PUTNEY — Musician Randy Smith and his wife, Carol, were living in northern Vermont, when, a few years ago, “One day, we looked at each other and we both said, 'Why are we here?,” he recalls.
Smith, a western Massachusetts native who has performed with the band 8084 since 1982, lists a couple of key reasons for his family's move to Charlotte, N.C.: “I don't like snow, and by far, I don't like driving in snow.”
But he still returns regularly to play to a loyal fan base in the Northeast.
This Saturday, July 7 - a day on which he can presumably avoid snow - Smith will join other musicians at Next Stage Arts for “Randy Smith and Friends,” a concert of his music from both 8084 and his solo career.
Opening the show will be Jandee Lee Porter, a New Hampshire-based singer-songwriter from a small western Massachusetts town, performing a unique fusion of folk, blues, rock, and soul.
Smith's playlist represents a musical evolution that he describes as a journey from a “predictable” rock band to a 30-year veteran of the stage and recording studio who says he now likes to “let songs take me into a certain direction.”
“They're not about cars, girls, or dogs dying,” he said on the phone from the road last week.
“I'm tired of hearing, 'That's not going to sell,'” he said.
“Music is a progression,” Smith added. “I came to where I am today, and I like to go in different directions so I don't get stale.”
Smith's 8084 bandmates - bassist Roy Brown and percussionist Gary Spaulding - will join him, as will guitarist Rich Abel and violinist Kenny Butler.
“It's more of an acoustic type of show now,” he said. “It's more organic. It's all about the sound.”
The acoustic treatment strips a song to its core, he added.
“It makes the song able to breathe,” he said, noting that his recent work has a “country twinge” to it.
Anticipating Butler on the violin, Smith said the band will perform several covers, including “Dust in the Wind,” a 1977 acoustic song by Kansas.
“Plus all my material from over the years,” he said.
Smith has performed more than 4,500 live shows over his career, sharing the stage with such acts as Aldo Nova, Toto, April Wine, Warrant, Edgar Winter, Blue Oyster Cult, and Henry Lee Summer, as well as performing throughout all of the Northeast, Mid-Atlantic and Southern States, as well as Québec and the Maritime Provinces.
Formerly with CBS Records Canada, Smith has recorded six albums throughout his musical career, both individually and with 8084.
Smith describes the late 1980s as the band's heyday, when he and his bandmates were on a roll in the U.S., had a record contract, and had developed an exceptionally loyal following in Denmark and Germany.
The Internet has been a boon for the band in letting longtime fans, especially ones from overseas, rediscover the group.
“I don't play full time,” says Smith, also a professional web designer and developer. “I wouldn't call it the only thing I do.”
Smith describes his desire to leave commercial pressures behind as “true freedom.”
“I'm just getting away from that,” he says. “If someone likes it, great. If someone doesn't like it? That's okay, too.”