Neil Dixon’s Smith’s
Life in Music
underlined items are live
WELCOME
PROLOGUE:
A. An Overview and Assessment of Myself as a Guitarist
- Let Me Clear My Throat
- Talkin’ Solo Guitar
- Sweating the Technique
- Enter the Garden
- The Present Tense, part 1
- The Present Tense, part 2
B. My Musical Youth
C. Ann Arbor, the Early Years
PART I: Ann Arbor, the Holy Land
A. WCBN, Reggae Ambassada, Messengers of Zuma, Scheme, Butterfly
1. Love is True – Butterfly (1996)
2. Pumpin’ Sumpin’ – Scheme (1997)
3. A Subtle Response – Scheme (1997)
B. The White Room and the Sound System
4. Small House – Butterfly (1997)
5. Heartbeat – Butterfly (1997)
6. Aeroplane (from California) – Butterfly (1997)
C. Butterfly to Ground.EFX to Ghettobillies
7. Late Nite Delight (40oz Dub) – Butterfly (1998)
8. Man (live) – Ground.EFX (1999)
9. The Monkey (live) – Ground.EFX (1999)
PART II: The Long Move to Chicago and the Suite 777
A. Presenting the Hot Front
10. Wicked Run – The Hot Front (2002)
11. No Party Line – The Hot Front (2002)
B. TOBASOL on the Porch
12. The Midwest Got Me Down – Neil Dixon Smith w/TOBASOL (2003)
13. Dumbed Down (By the Summertime) – Neil Dixon Smith w/TOBASOL (2003)
14. Please the Lunatics – Neil Dixon Smith w/TOBASOL (2003)
PART III: Chicago Education
A. Alfonso Chacón, Los Guitarristas, and the World Gets Bigger
15. Bolivia – Los Guitarristas (2009)
16. Chile – Los Guitarristas (2009)
17. Paraguay – Los Guitarristas (2009)
B. Más Truerno and Open Source Dancehall
18. Sawyer Ave – Más Trueno (2011)
19. Wild Was the Night – Más Trueno (2010)
20. Anseidad – Más Trueno (2011)
21. You Really Got a Hold on Me – Más Trueno (2011)
C. NCAR, At My Best, Joy and Obscurity
22. Christina – NCAR (2013)
23. Eldora – NCAR (2013)
24. Goodbye Girl – NCAR (2013)
D. Phantom Numbers, Wes, Music, Poetry, COVID
25. Nightdream – Phantom Numbers (2021)
26. Insomnia – Phantom Numbers (2021)
27. Dog Creek Mainline – Phantom Numbers (2021)
E. Three Flights of Stairs
28. Tapwater – Neil Dixon Smith (2025)
F. Duo Balderram and Back to Solo Guitar
29. Los Ejes de Mi Carreta – Duo Balderrama (2026)
30. Macorina – Duo Balderrama (2026)
31. Barlovento – Duo Balderrama (2026)
32. Cerros de Santiago – Neil Dixon Smith (2026)
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WELCOME! Read Me First
Greetings and welcome! My name is Neil Dixon Smith, I’m a guitarist living in Chicago and this is a blog dedicated to me telling the story of my…
4 min read
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6. The Present Tense, part 2
There’s a story I like to tell about solo guitar. Nothing I’ve studied formally, too much of this kind of thinking becomes a distraction, but picked up and…
4 min read
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5. The Present Tense, part 1
In the previous couple chapters I discussed the initial discoveries, thrills and challenges in my first 10-15 years or so transforming into a solo guitarist. In this chapter…
4 min read
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4. Enter the Garden
When I began the process of putting together my Retrospective, reviewing old recordings, it wasn’t all the joyful experience of unearthing forgotten treasures. It is the nature of…
4 min read
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3. Sweating the Technique
My first “professional” gigging happened started in summer 1994 when I joined up with Reggae Ambassada, serving SE Michigan playing Bob Marley hits but also more contemporary dancehall…
4 min read
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2. Talkin’ Solo Guitar
I thought that before we get to the story of my start in music we should establish where I am now, where I’ve gotten to. I’ve had all…
4 min read
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1. Let Me Clear My Throat
My mother always told me that it was rude to talk about oneself too much, especially if not asked. As backhanded advice this one stuck with me. Maybe…
4 min read
