When I first started playing drums again in the 1990's it was because I was taking guitar lessons,
my guitar teacher was having a party and invited all his students. He could not find a drummer
willing to come to a party filled with wanna-be guitar players. My guitar teacher had convinced my friend
Kenny Smith (whom taught bass guitar at the same music store) to play bass for the party, then Kenny
cajoled me into me into sitting in on drums. I had not played drums since the early 1970's and was not very
keen to embarrass myself even more than my guitar playing already did, but I did it anyway.
It was the first time my wife Wendy had ever seen me play drums and the next Christmas she got me a set of drums.
After a few months, I got a reasonable set of chops back.
Soon, Kenny Smith and I hooked up as a rhythm section (bass & drums). Referring to ourselves as Smith & Hampton,
we hired ourselves out to various local guitar slingers, bands and one-off gigs where we could. Living close to the naval ship
yards in Bremerton and the submarine base Bangor, there were a lot of transient guitar slingers looking to let loose when
they were on shore and we helped them out! We only recorded once under this format, calling it Smith & Hampton Sessions.
Kenny grew up in El Paso and had a record label called Suemi Records (like in 'If you don't like it, sue me'). You can find out
more about Suemi Records and the El Paso Rock scene via search as his web sites are no longer maintained, (as Kenny died in 2011).
Kenny had a recording studio right around the corner from me where we recorded
Blakeslee and Ralph And Wally.
Hampton Blues and the Reggie Miles overdubs were recorded in my own studio.
The Rod Giles Band was recorded at the Synergy Sound Studios in Port Townsend, WA.
Dream Ranch was recorded at Agate Point Recording on Bainbridge Island, WA.
Below, each song can be played by pressing the play arrow below the song title
