Hometown: Towson
Members: Ed Hough, guitar and vocals; BJ Lazarus, mandolin; Cris Jacobs, guitar and vocals; Dave Frieman, upright bass; Patrick McAvinue, fiddle; Jordan Tice guitar and vocals; Dave Giegerich, dobro
Founded: 2002
Style: acoustic
Influenced by : Grateful Dead, Tony Rice, Sam Bush, The Band
Notable: Smooth Kentucky released a full-length studio album in 2004 and made some of its live recordings available for free download online. Right now, the members are wrapping up a second studio album, which should be released early next year. Since forming about six years ago, they have picked up a rotating cast of musicians, Frieman said.
Quotable : "We've come across some great players," Frieman said. "We've got a small pool to pick from ... and try to have them ready so we can have great soloists at each gig ... up to six [per show]. After a while, you start to get into the whole P-Funk look on stage, and you get into the whole issue of paying everybody. If somebody ends up wearing diapers on stage, smack me."
If you go : Smooth Kentucky opens for Steep Canyon Rangers tomorrow at The 8x10, 8-10 E. Cross St. Doors open at 8 p.m. $12. Call 410-625-2000 or go to the8x10.com. The band: myspace.com/smooth kentuckyband.
online See an archives of all the artists in Meet the Band at Baltimoresun.com/meettheband