Gonzalez Smith – the new musical project from singer-songwriter (and Drive-By Truckers multi-instrumentalist) Jay Gonzalez and cult comedy writer Pete Smith (Space Ghost Coast To Coast, The Brak Show) – have released their debut record, Roll Up A Song today. Roll Up A Song arrives via Madrid, Spain’s Bobo Integral in conjunction with Gonzalez’s own Middlebrow Records. To celebrate the release, the band has shared a new official music video for the song “Gelato,” streaming now on YouTube.
Watch “Gelato” by Gonzalez Smith
Roll Up A Song unites Gonzalez’s knack for melodic songcraft and musical invention with Smith’s dexterous lyricism – by turns honest, romantic, arch, and comedic, sometimes in the same verse – to create something both timeless and altogether original. A seamless fusion of power pop, piano ballads, bossa nova, and spun sugar musical confection, Roll Up A Song was heralded earlier in the fall, with the releases of the head-nodding power pop banger, “She’s My Girl” and the sweeping, symphonic pop song “The Lexington Line” featuring strings arranged by Athens, GA musician Brent Cash.
Watch “She’s My Girl” by Gonzalez Smith
Perhaps best known for his role as guitarist/keyboard player with the mighty Drive-By Truckers, Jay Gonzalez has increasingly grown his own invigorating and inventive body of work, reimagining the sound of classic AM radio through his own kaleidoscopic approach. From his acclaimed solo albums – most recently, 2021’s Back To The Hive – through collaborations with such like-minded musical adventurers as Eyelids, Chris Stamey, Scott McCaughey, R.E.M.’s Bill Berry, and others, the multi-talented Athens, GA native remains on a steadfast quest to push his beloved pop music into remarkable new shapes, imbuing his style-blurring songcraft with adventurous arrangements, timeless songwriting, and a lifetime of passion.
Pete Smith made waves with 1971’s Butterscotch Rum, his infamous sunshine pop collaboration with legendary jazz composer Gary McFarland. Weaving satire, insight, and elegiac wit, Smith’s journey through music and comedy led him to Adult Swim, where he served as producer and creative engine for almost two decades, a career spanning countless on-air promos, voice roles on such shows as Squidbillies, and of course, his integral role in both Space Ghost Coast To Coast and its equally off-kilter spin-off, The Brak Show.
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