Gideon Smith & The Dixie Damned

Bio:

Based in North Carolina, vocalist/guitarist Gideon Smith started the group in 1997 with former Animal Bag members. A year later a self titled ep was released on Colorado doom label Game Two Records that quickly sold out of its first pressing. Gid and his band were labeled 'the real thing' and gathered high praise in the press and on music websites. To get the ball rolling and work up some rock and roll spirit mojo, Smith went alone to the legendary Sun Studio, the birthplace of rock and roll. There he recorded a session of live acoustic demos using 50 year old microphones and a chip on his shoulder.

Mighty kings of 70's rock Small Stone Records signed Gid in 1999 and released the debut full length "Southern Gentlemen". It was released to excellent reviews and worldwide acclaim. The album was mixed by Al Sutton (Kid Rock, Sheryl Crow, others). In reviews the debut album was called "an insight of what it would sound like if Elvis sang in a stoner rock band" (All Music Guide) and "Gideon sings like a southern, rawer Jim Morrison, singing of ghost riders, voodoo rites and mysticism" (L.Gaglio). In the last few years, the band has appeared on six tribute albums, television programs (including 'The Sopranos', Fox Sports, Fusion TV, 'Nitro Circus', 'Sons of Anarchy' 'Dudesons In America', 'Dog The Bounty Hunter' and others) and two indie horror movie soundtracks. Gideon also won awards in the underground press for 'best hard rock artist'. Among these was the Critic's Choice Award for 'Best Hard Rock Artist 2003" by Creative Loafing, and Featured Hard Rock Artist award in 2004. GS&TDD has been compared to bands like Pentagram while also being described as "cowboy doom" being called "fantastic..the Black Sabbath of the grasslands". Gid and company recorded a session on the original Muscle Shoals Mixing Board (Skynyrd, Stones, Allmans, Wilson Pickett,etc.) at legendary studio Burns Station Sound in Nashville, Tennessee (Cash,Nelson,Monroe,others), sitting in was Jerry Lee Lewis and Lonestar pedal steel member Glen Childress. Blending a life long love of old school rock music, space rock, 60's psychedelic blues, traditional outlaw country and swampy bayou jams, Gideon has carved a name for himself in the music world by appealing to fans of classic rock, delta blues, hippie psychedelia, and doom metal alike. Often compared to the "Love" era Cult, The Allman Brothers, The Doors, Lynyrd Skynyrd, Black Sabbath, Danzig, Raging Slab, Circus Of Power, Zodiac Mindwarp and Elvis Presley, Gideon and the Dixie Damned embody the space cowboy and soulful bluesman/bayou bred image with the proof being.. deep in the power of the music. Cosmic Lava webzine called Mr. Smith 'one of the last musical desperados', saying "hardly another musician embodies the rock n roll outlaw.." and called him "an outstanding, authentic vocalist who doesn't give a f*ck about any trends." The new full length album, entitled "South Side of the Moon", is out now on Small stone Records in 2008. "South Side of the Moon" expands on the space rock and gothic elements in Gid's bluesy southern music, making the new LP the most diverse and psychedelic release yet. "South Side" has been a long time in the making...but from the first fuzz-infected notes it's easy to see that it was well worth the wait. Gideon and his ever-changing band of musical desperado's have created a timeless classic that could have just as easily been produced in 1968 or 1978 as it was in 2008. MTV Series "NITRO CIRCUS" rocked the Gideon Smith song "Black Cat Road" on the "Nitro in the Guinness Book" Episode. Recently Gideon's song "Indian Larry" was featured on MTV's popular series "THE DUDESONS IN AMERICA". A&E's "DOG THE BOUNTY HUNTER" features the song "Way Of The Outlaw" in the episode "Prodigal Son" in 2010. FX's hit series "SONS OF ANARCHY" recently used the song "Black Cat Road" on an episode in Season 2. In 2010, a tribute album was released entitled "F.T.W." on Scorpius Triangle Records, which featured seventeen tracks of various artists from the USA, Canada and Europe performing covers of Gideon Smith songs. Now in 2011, the third full length has been released entitled '30 Weight'. The album has recieved international acclaim and was listed among the top releases of the year on many websites (The Soda Shop, Ripple Effect and others) aswell as being featured as 'Kat's band of the day' on the website of Terrorizer Magazine. "DOG THE BOUNTY HUNTER" program featured the new Gideon song 'Ride With Me' on the episode 'A Tender Trap'. '30 Weight' is out now on www.smallstone.com, amazon.com and iTunes.