Matt Smith is an Australian jazz guitarist. He is most widely known as the lead guitarist in the Australian pop rock band Thirsty Merc but also plays guitar for Sydney afrobeat/reggae band The Strides. He joined Thirsty Merc in January 2010 after helping record the band's third album, Mousetrap Heart, in Los Angeles in late 2009.
Smith grew up in Mount Warrigal, a large suburb of Wollongong, New South Wales, Australia. From the age of 5 he took classical piano lessons because he was told that his hands were too small to play guitar. He eventually got his way and was given his first guitar for his 8th birthday [1] and started tuition at 10.
Throughout high school, Smith played in the school concert band and during his HSC developed an interest in jazz. He then went on to study at the Wollongong Conservatorium of Music [2] and completed a Bachelor of Contemporary Music in 2007. [3]
Smith first met Rai Thistlethwayte, lead singer of Thirsty Merc, at a gig in Sydney and went on to work with Rai on his solo tour. After Sean, lead guitarist for Thirsty Merc, left the band indefinitely, Smith was asked to record the album Mousetrap Heart with the rest of the band in Los Angeles. Smith was officially made a part of the band in January 2010.
Thirsty Merc are an Australian pop rock band, formed in 2002 by Rai Thistlethwayte, Phil Stack, Karl Robertson (drums), and Matthew Baker (guitar). In 2004, Baker was replaced by Sean Carey, who was, in turn, replaced by Matt Smith in 2010. Thirsty Merc have released one extended play, First Work, and five studio albums: Thirsty Merc, Slideshows, Mousetrap Heart, Shifting Gears, and Celebration. The band have sold over 200,000 albums, toured extensively around Australia, and received national radio airplay for their tracks.
Rai Thistlethwayte is an Australian rock, pop and jazz musician and songwriter. Thistlethwayte is an accomplished pianist, guitarist, and vocalist. He is the lead singer, rhythm guitarist, and primary songwriter in the Australian pop rock band Thirsty Merc. From 2004, Thirsty Merc released a string of hits in the Australian charts including "In the Summertime", "Someday, Someday", "20 Good Reasons", "Emancipate Myself", "My Completeness", "When the Weather Is Fine" and "Mousetrap Heart". He is currently based in Los Angeles. As a solo artist, Thistlethwayte performs under the name 'Sun Rai'.
Emily Remler was an American jazz guitarist, active from the late 1970s until her death in 1990.
Southern Sons is an Australian rock band, formed in Melbourne, Victoria in 1989 by members of The State along with lead vocalist and guitarist Irwin Thomas, who was then using the stage name Jack Jones. They are best known for their Australian top ten hits "Heart in Danger", "Hold Me in Your Arms", and "You Were There".
Christopher James Cester is an Australian musician, songwriter, producer and founding mainstay drummer and backing vocalist of rock band Jet. As a member of Jet, Cester has won awards as a songwriter from the Australasian Performing Right Association (APRA), including in 2005 as Songwriter of the Year, and 2011 for "Seventeen", which won "Most Played Australian Work" and "Rock Work of the Year".
Wollongong Conservatorium of Music is a centre for music education, community music-making and performance, serving the city of Wollongong, New South Wales, Australia.
Sun 1972 is the sole album by Australian progressive jazz-rock group, Sun. It was released in August 1972 with Horst Liepolt producing for RCA Victor. Australian musicologist, Ian McFarlane, opined that it is a, "collectable, progressive jazz-rock album." Australian singer, Renée Geyer, was a member of the group for this recording and later had a solo career.
Phillip Barry Stack is an Australian jazz and rock musician. He is the founding bass guitarist of the pop rock band Thirsty Merc since 2002, the regular double bassist for jazz musician James Morrison and leader of the ensemble called Phil Stack Trio. He is also in several other groups Drown, House of Orange, and Lily Dior Quartet.
First Work is the debut EP release by Australia rock band Thirsty Merc released in 2003, which appeared on the ARIA Charts top 100. It features early versions of songs that the band re-recorded for their studio album Thirsty Merc.
Thirsty Merc is the debut studio album release by Australian rock band Thirsty Merc released in 2004.
Slideshows is the second studio album release by Australian rock band Thirsty Merc. It was released on 21 April 2007, through Warner Music Australia. Six singles were released from the album. The first single "20 Good Reasons", became Thirsty Merc's first single to peak in the Top 10 on the Australian Singles Chart. The second single from the album was "The Hard Way", followed by "Those Eyes", which was released as a digital download in December 2007, only later to be released on CD in April 2008. "Homesick" was released as the fourth single digitally, making available for the first time a single mix of the track. This was followed by a double radio release of singles five and six, "The Whole World Reminds Me of You" and "Crying in Denial", both of which garnered highly successful airplay runs in a radio edit form.
Karl Robertson is the drummer for Australian rock group Thirsty Merc. As a founding member from 2002, he has performed on all their releases from First Work in September 2003 to the single "The Whole World Reminds Me of You" in December 2008.
"Wasting Time" is a song by Thirsty Merc, released as their debut single in 2003. It was featured on their debut EP, First Work. Its radio success led to release of the band's debut self-titled album, Thirsty Merc, on which the track was featured. The track's accompanying one-shot video was also a huge hit.
Sundance are an Australian pop rock/indie rock band from Adelaide, South Australia, formed in 2006. The group began as the acoustic trio of vocalist and guitarist Ash Gale as well as guitarists Jason Shepherd and Luke Zecchin, before they were joined by bassist and vocalist Jeremy Wright with drummer Suresh Meyer.
"Mousetrap Heart" is the first single from Thirsty Merc's third album Mousetrap Heart. It was released as a digital download on 21 May 2010.
Mousetrap Heart is the third studio album by Australian rock band Thirsty Merc. It was released on 18 June 2010, through Warner Music Australia. The title track was released as the first single on 21 May 2010. The album marks the band's first release with guitarist Matt Smith, since joining the band just after the departure of Sean Carey earlier in the year.
Village Kid is a musical group based in Perth, Western Australia, Australia.
Denise Donatelli is an American jazz singer.
The Fabulous Caprettos is an Australian supergroup consisting of Dave Gleeson, Jack Jones, Russell Morris and Rai Thistlethwayte. The band formed in 2020, when they began rehearsing and recording. Gleeson replaced original member Daryl Braithwaite in mid-2023.
Matt Smith is an English actor.