Smith then admits that is his tongue-in-cheek way of describing the style of music he’s developed for the last 20 years.

“I consider myself a jam band songwriter,” Smith said in a phone interview from his Austin home. “When people ask me what kind of music I play, I usually tell them modern day roots rock. We have a little funk, a little blues, country and folk. But ultimately it’s all rock.”

The Ohio born artist is on tour in support of his latest album “New Dark Ages” that was released last year. Smith, along with drummer Mark Leshner and bassist Jay Ewell will hit the stage at 10 p.m. Friday at O'briens Irish Pub in Temple.

Q: What can the crowd expect to hear at the show?

A: We’ll be doing a lot of my stuff but also a good number of cover songs. We cover a lot of ground. We don’t just play blues standards and classic rock but I’ll throw in some reggae. We’re going to be jamming with a lot of up-tempo funky stuff.

Q: How long have you been a musician?

A: I started back in my college days, in the late 80s and early 90s. I’ve always been a musician. From the time I was a kid I took piano lessons. In my last year of high school I started guitar and eventually learned the bass. I play a variety of instruments.

Q: What made you want to get into the music business?

A: “I got started working as a roadie in the Midwest. I grew up in Ohio and during my senior year of high school there was a private production that was farmed out by the big amphitheaters in the Midwest. I got to work as a roadie for these huge shows with everyone from Bob Dylan to Tom Petty to Metallica and the Beach Boys. That was my first taste of the whole business really. I remember one time Chicago opened for the Beach Boys. I had to go between sets and replace microphones and monitors and there were 15,000 people there and I’m thinking, “I’m going to be this person someday.”

Q: How did you get your start?

A: A buddy of mine recruited me to be his bass player. So I moved to Los Angeles and became his bass player and eventually became his road manager. I was always a songwriter and guitar player but I also learned the bass. It seemed everyone wanted to either be a singer/guitar player or a drummer and nobody played bass. I guess playing the bass really enabled me to get out on the road. It sort of cemented my obvious desire to be a professional, full-time musician, which is not an easy thing.

Q: Why did you leave Los Angeles after 15 years?

A: I think Shawn Mullins has a song that goes “it’s hard to play a gig in L.A. with a straight face.”

I’m a songwriter and Austin was always on my mind as one of the true grassroots places. It’s not just a blues world or country world. It’s a songwriter’s heaven.

Q: Was there a specific message you were trying to express with “New Dark Ages.”

A: It’s a title that obviously sums up a lot of gloom and doom. I think back in the 60s and 70s bands used to put out albums with really interesting artwork. But they’d also come up with some provocative album titles that didn’t have one meaning. And that’s how I approached this. The state of the world is kind of a mess. I wanted to address the topics of today and at the same time I wanted to have a little lightheartedness. I want to make sure there is a glimmer of hope throughout.

Q: Do you prefer to play smaller or larger venues?

A: One time we played this roadhouse with probably about 100 people packed in. Everybody was dancing the whole time, whoopin’ and hollerin’ right in your face. To me that’s just as fun as playing a big stage with a lot of people. What it comes down to is quality listening and a quality audience that are with you, whether it’s 100 or 1,000.

--rrenfrow@temple-telegram.com