E. Doctor Smith

E. Doctor Smith began his musical journey as a teenager playing percussion in the District of Columbia Youth Orchestra and in Maryland’s Montgomery County Youth Orchestra. Inspired by the Miles Davis fusion bands of the mid-70s, he continued his studies with Paul Sears, drummer of the Muffins. His first group, Oranus Rey, featured guitarist Paul Bollenback, bassist Ed Howard, and saxophonist Tim Chambers.In 1980 Doc moved to New York where he met fellow Music Building tenants Madonna and her co-writer, Stephen Bray. With Bray, Doc performed in the Breakfast Club and The Same. The Same was produced by Brian Eno and featured keyboardist Carter Burwell, guitarist Chip Johannsen, singer Clodagh Simonds, and bassist Stanley Adler. Eno is wearing the band’s signature button with the motto “Semper Mutants”.

Following Bray and Madonna to Los Angeles, Doc assisted on many of Madonna’s biggest albums as well as other of Bray’s projects including Nick Kamen, Gladys Knight, The Breakfast Club, Brian Ferry, and Steel Pulse. In L.A. Doc’s sound engineering skills were honed in sessions working alongside Michael Verdick and Tony Shepperd. Back on the East Coast, Doc performed with the New England groups K2, Flash to Bangtime, and Feat of Clay using a Simmons kit he called the “Beast.” Inspired by that of British drummer Bill Bruford, Doc’s 12-piece kit was the first embodiment of his love of digital drums.
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In 1995, as a member of the trio Between The Lines, Doc designed and built the Drummstick, a percussion controller consisting rather humbly of a 2×6 piece of wood with 16 finger-pads. Doc soon formed his Drummstick band with Celia DuBose, Jack Wright and Neil Mezebish. From 1998-2001, Doc worked as the FOH engineer for the State Theater in Falls Church, VA, mixing the likes of Jimmy Cliff, Warren Zevon, Dave Mason, John Mayall, Koko Taylor, Bill Bruford, Mickey Hart, Little Feat, Paul Kantner, and many, many others.
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In 2001, Doc moved to San Francisco and signed with Rent Romus’ Edgetone Records label in 2006. The summer of 2007 saw the release of a new Drummstick 2 CD, a long-distance collaboration with the original Drummstick group and other musical friends, as well as the re-release of his first Drummstick album.

Doc also produced and performed on an Edgetone release entitled Robert Anbian and UFQ: the Unidentified Flying Quartet. This timely and troubling work of jazz and poetry features poet Robert Anbian, saxophonist Charles Unger, keyboardist Sam Peoples, and bassist Mike Shea.

In the winter of 2007, Doc began playing his signature series Zendrum ZX and continued collaborating with the 7 string bass virtuoso Edo Castro. In June of 2008, Doc released his fourth album on Edgetone, “K2”, with long time partners Seth Elgart, Neil Mezebish and Castro, followed by “Live”, also on Edgetone with Castro. Doc continued to perform with a variety of jazz groups, including the Maki-Smith Duo, with Nora Maki, the UFQ, the Wilbur Rehmann Quartet, the UF2 with Sam Peoples, the McQuarry, Kleinman & Smith Trio featuring keyboardist Steve McQuarry and bassist Craig Kleinman, and the McQuarry Organ Trio with guitarist David McFarland.

“Quantum” was one of Doc’s more recent works and his sixth album on the Edgetone Records label. Quantum reunited Smith with his former Drummstick band mate, guitarist Jack Wright (Quantum Kids, Temporal Chaos Project) and features Quantum Kids’ bassist, Tom Shiben, and Smith’s Feat of Clay co-founder, trumpeter Eric Dahlman. In this collaboration, Smith’s unique fusion approach to the new Zendrum EXP MIDI percussion controller (the first commercially sold EXP, designed by David Haney of the Zendrum Corporation), splash blends with Wright’s inspired guitar work and looping mastery to create music swirling between the subtle, the beautiful, the incendiary. The result was a mix of progressive rock and jazz with ambient and otherworldly sounds.

Doc’s projects also include bansurist John Wubbenhorst and his group Facing East; “FutureJazz”, featuring guitarist Peter McKibben, and flautist Laura Austin Wiley; Trio Electrique, with 7 string bassist Edo Castro-Woodhouse and electric violinist Michelle Walther.

Doc has toured with bassist Jason Everett’s Deep Energy Orchestra, featuring Trey Gunn of King Crimson, guitarist Fareed Haque of Billy Cobham’s Crosswinds band, Radhika Iyer on electric violin, Phil Hirschi of the Mahavishnu Orchestra on cello, Chaz Hastings on tabla, Rachel Nesvig on violin and Aleida Gehrels on viola.

Doc currently resides in Lake Tahoe, CA and performs with guitarist Bob Israel’s Sierra Blues Band; guitarist Jeremy Thomas, and many other local artists. He is currently working with keyboardist Seth Elgart; guitarist Peter McKibben; 7 string bassist Edo Castro-Woodhouse; Guitarist Peter Fujii and his duets with guitarist/keyboardist Jordan Breslow.