Josh Smith (born October 7, 1979) [1] is an American blues guitar player from Fort Lauderdale, Florida. He now lives in Los Angeles and is a record producer at his studio Flat V Studios. In 2019 Guitar World magazine put Smith number 16 on their list, "The 30 best blues guitarists in the world today".
Smith was born in 1979 in Middletown, Connecticut, [1] and raised in Fort Lauderdale, Florida. He began playing guitar when he was seven years old, and at 10 years old he began playing at blues festivals. [2] [3] He also began making albums when he was fourteen. [4] By the time he was 18 he had released three albums. [2] When he was 22 he got married and moved to Los Angeles. [5]
When Smith was 16 he toured the United States with his band, Rhino Cats. The band released two independent albums, Born Under a Blue Sign and Woodsheddin'. [6] After the Rhino Cats Smith formed another band (a trio) which he called, Josh Smith and the Frost. [5] He was 18 years old at the time and they released an album, Too Damn Cold. It was produced by Jim Gaines. [2] Throughout his career he has played guitar on the albums of Taylor Hicks, Ricky Fanté, and Raphael Saadiq. [4] [7]
Smith is also a record producer and he owns Flat V Studios in Los Angeles, California. [4] He has produced albums for Artur Menezes, [8] [9] Reese Wynans, Eric Gales, Joanna Connor, Joanne Shaw Taylor, Marc Broussard, Larry McCray, Andy Timmons, and Joe Bonamassa among others. [1]
Guitar World magazine put Smith at number 16 on their list, "The 30 best blues guitarists in the world today". [10] In 2020, Rock and Blues Muse put Smith on their list of the "Top 15 Contemporary Blues Rock Guitarists 2020". [11]
