Love Steve Smith's art show. Thrilled that we framed it.

Posted on March 20, 2016 by Erick Rios

Steve Smith Journey Drummer and Erick Sanchez from Frames and Stretchers

We are excited that Frames and Stretchers got to frame Steve Smith's art show. We built the heavy duty wood stretchers and stretched the canvases for "THE FABRIC OF RHYTHM" - The Art of STEVE SMITH Drummer of JOURNEY. The show opened to the public with the artist reception last Thursday 03/17/2016 at Art on A Gallery / Wendigo Productions. The gallery was completely packed with fans and art lovers showing Lower East Side / East Village Rock Vibes. He also performed and talked about his art and process.

About The Collection:
“I call my collection ‘The Fabric of Rhythm’ because I feel that this art is a view into the inner workings of the motions I use to make rhythms. With drumming, we hear only part of the motions that we make, and because the sticks and hands are generally traveling so fast, we don’t see all the motions being used. We hear the impact of the stick on a drum head or cymbal, but we don’t hear the motions made in the spaces between the notes. The spaces in-between the notes are as important as the notes that we hear. With some percussion instruments like shakers or tambourines, we do hear the entire motion and it’s important that the motions are smooth and symmetrical, in order to get a grooving rhythm. To me, this means that the entire motion that you use with a drumstick is important. With the process that we used to make this art, you see both the impacts and the spaces between the notes, it’s as if we are looking into the very fabric of the rhythms.”
- Steve Smith

Steve Smith, Journey Drummer talking and showing his art process framed at Frames and Stretchers

Steve Smith grew up in the Boston area and started playing drums at the age of 9 in 1963. He studied music at the Berklee College of Music from 1972 to 1976 with Alan Dawson and Gary Chaffee as his private instructors. Steve joined the rock band Journey in 1978. He occupied the drum chair from late 1978 through mid-1985. Smith left the band in 1985, but he returned in 1995 for the band's 1996 comeback album, Trial by Fire. In the interim, he played with Journey offshoot The Storm.

He has also worked with pop artists such as Bryan Adams, Mariah Carey, Andrea Bocelli, Elisa, Vasco Rossi, Zucchero, Savage Garden, as well as world musicians such as Zakir Hussain and Sandip Burman. Additionally, he has played with various jazz artists including Mike Mainieri's Steps Ahead, Wadada Leo Smith, Tom Coster, Ahmad Jamal, Dave Liebman, Larry Coryell, Victor Wooten, Mike Stern, Randy Brecker, Scott Henderson, Frank Gambale, Stuart Hamm, Dweezil Zappa, Anthony Jackson, Aydın Esen, Torsten de Winkel, George Brooks, Michael Zilber, Steve Marcus, Andy Fusco, Kai Eckhardt, Lee Musiker, Howard Levy, Oteil Burbridge, Jerry Goodman, Tony MacAlpine and Bill Evans. Smith also has lead his own jazz group, Vital Information since 1977. In 2001, Modern Drummer magazine named Smith as one of the Top 25 Drummers of All Time. The following year, he was voted into the Modern Drummer Hall of Fame.

On November 24, 2015, Journey announced that Smith has rejoined the band.

Journey is an American rock band that formed in San Francisco in 1973, composed of former members of Santana and Frumious Bandersnatch. It's strongest commercial success occurred between 1978 and 1987. During that period, the band released a series of hit songs, including 1981's "Don't Stop Believin'", which in 2009 became the top-selling track in iTunes history.

Special Thanks to the Art on A Gallery crew for all your support!!!

Art on A Gallery
24 Avenue A New York, NY 10009
Work on Display March 10th - April 7th