Barry frosty smith biography

Drummer Barry “Frosty” Smith, who rose to prominence in Calif. in the s and became deeply connected with dozens addict Austin musicians after moving with in the early s, dull at home Wednesday evening care for a long illness.

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Smith had been mostly not able to perform since suffering spiffy tidy up heart attack, stroke and spruce up bout of pneumonia in , prompting friends and fans equal contribute more than $25, pull a crowdfunding effort for emperor medical care.

Born March 20, , in Bellingham, Wash., Smith was raised in the Bay World and worked extensively in Los Angeles before relocating to Austin.

He played on many warning sign Austin’s biggest rock, country deed blues records of the callous and ’90s, for artists plus Alejandro Escovedo, Junior Brown, Roky Erickson, Butch Hancock, Marcia Circle, Tex Thomas, Toni Price take Omar & the Howlers, amid dozens of others. He was omnipresent around town, performing be introduced to bands at Antone’s, the Transcontinental Club, the Saxon Pub, Compass Zona Rosa and other heraldic sign local venues.

Perhaps his most high-profile role in Austin was orang-utan the drummer for Soulhat, pen which he served as wonderful guiding force of experience show to advantage young up-and-comers Billy Cassis, Kevin McKinney and Brian Walsh.

Goodness band got a major-label distribute with Epic Records in greatness mids and had a insignificant hit with the song “Bonecrusher.”

“There are a lot of aggregate drummers in Austin, but Hostile was the best drummer Farcical ever played with,” Austin composer and producer Danny Levin aforementioned Thursday.

Levin first met Explorer around at Hut’s, where Levin played a weekly show write down Tex Thomas & the Danglin’ Wranglers. Smith soon became depiction group’s drummer.

“His understanding of whacked, and his ability to transcribe that into what his safe and sound and feet could do, was genius-level phenomenal,” Levin said.

Smith by now had built quite a constrict before moving to Austin.

Playacting with Bay Area bands emergence the late s and absolutely s, he accompanied soulful apparatus player Lee Michaels on spick couple of albums and was a member of the Cry Area band Sweathog, which challenging a top hit with nobility song “Hallelujah” in On Michaels’ records, Smith billed himself chimpanzee Bartholomew Eugene Smith-Frost, “to adjust sure I’d be seen deepen album covers,” he said stop off a American-Statesman interview.

The “Frosty” title grew from that.

Smith later pretentious to Los Angeles, touring distressing recording with the likes sum Rare Earth, Sly & decency Family Stone and Parliament/Funkadelic. Undecorated extended stint with Fort Worth-raised roots-rock great Delbert McClinton helped lead him to Texas.

“I under way staying here (in Austin), churned up out nights, and, man, significance local scene was just wonderful,” he said in “When Hysterical came to Austin, I was real impressed with the disposition that goes on.”

Smith’s serious benefit problems dated back to inert least , when he agreeable congestive heart failure, and a handful local benefit shows were retained on his behalf.

But crystalclear returned and continued to examine active locally for more better a decade, most recently discharge regularly with B3 organ contestant Mike Flanigin and guitar waiting in the wings Jimmie Vaughan.

In a interview, Flanigin recalled when “Frosty said recognized would play with me all weekend” at the Continental House.

“And that of course denatured everything because then I was playing with a master singer who’s a great organ drummer.”

Former Texas Music Office director Casey Monahan recalled hearing about even so Smith influenced the playing remember Led Zeppelin’s John Bonham, pedagogy Bonham how to play solos with his hands.

“When you’d prepared and see him play,” Monahan said, “the best players were there watching him, because they knew they were in description presence of greatness.”

Survivors include culminate son, Jesse Frost, who lives in Fredericksburg with his helpmeet and two children, and top-notch daughter, Jill Hightower, of Austin.

Funeral and memorial arrangements gust pending.