"..Make no mistake, the soft-spoken Palm Beach Gardens resident(John Smotherman) often speaks volumes with his hands, yet he always displays taste and creativity and knows when to downshift.
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Bill Meredith, The Palm Beach Post TGIF
"John's practically the anti-guitarist,"says Blatant Disregard bassist Mark Braun. "he has great technique, yet he'a a very giving player and actually listens."
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Bill Meredith, The Palm Beach Post - TGIF
“JOHN SMOTHERMAN is a native of TN,whose range of style is unmatched.After performing for several years in FL area clubs,he spent 6 months touring Sweden.Impressed by his dynamic performance at a local club in Indianapolis, The Jes Richmond Band invited him to "sit in"...and the rest is history.”
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L.A. Weekly
“The real treats were positioned adjacent to the dessert bar when Shelbyville native Jes Richmond made a local appearance with partner John Smotherman.
The Jes Richmond Band played Thursday at Fat Daddy's Bar and Grill....
Richmond has been playing with Smotherman since 1994. ”
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The Shelbyville News, Shelbyville, IN
“..Gonzalez's 301East group has become a rotating collective with guitarists Steve..and Mike.. both out. Enter John Smotherman,the area guitar hero from the mid 80s/early 90s who left a decade ago but returned to a fruitful freelance career within the past year..With drummer,Chris Peet....”
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Staff, The Palm Beach Post
“A reticent guitar hero returned here recently after coming to SoFlorida in the mid 80's,then seeing,conquering and leaving a decade ago.John Smotherman's day job has been in the aviation industry..but it's onstage where he truely flies..Humble and soft-spoken, JS spoke loudly through music..”
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William Meredith, The Palm Beach Post
“Rarely does a musician make such an imprint on So Florida's musical consciousness,only to leave and return even better 10 years later,as did TN-born guitarist Smotherman..can exactingly replicate Vaughan and Hendrix,plus fuse influences like Jeff Beck & Eric Johnson into his own creative synthesis”
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William Meredith , The Palm Beach Post - TGIF
