We’re not Smart Kids…
Ok, in spirit we might be, but that’s splitting the few hairs we collectively have left.
Jeff and Matt have been friends for many years. They met in the heydays of the 90’s music scene in Boston when their bands played a show on the same bill. Shortly after, Matt produced an EP of that band, “Redletter” and they’ve been friends ever since. They later collaborated on a few songs that landed on that band’s LP, after they had changed their name to “The Break Mission”. It was that collaborative work, in a similar style of what was to come, that had them thinking that they should do more work together.
Years later, Smart Kids became a thing. The name itself is a thing.
When they were making the first Smart Kids EP, Matt was working at MIT and had a studio there that he operated and managed. On weekends, it was available, so Jeff would drive up and they’d work long hours to get the EP done. Jeff made a joke once about making music “where the Smart Kids go to school” and how we were neither Smart, nor are we Kids. That’s when we decided there’s no better name.
There’s an Easter egg on EP cover that has the room number of where that EP was made. Couldn’t resist.
Jeff Knowlton
Jeff is the primary songwriter and the voice of Smart Kids. Nothing can happen without his brilliance. From “Redletter” to “The Break Mission” and now Smart Kids, Jeff has been writing and playing outstanding music for decades (again, not Kids). His voice is endearing and powerful at the same time, while his lyrics reach right in there and draw you in. His style is all his own and the moment you hear one of his songs, you immediately know it’s Jeff and he delivers the goods.
Matt Russell
Matt plays drums and a host of other instruments, sort of. He’s been making records, mixing them and working on all kinds of mix to picture projects as well as scoring films and podcasts for a very long time. He’s a Berklee alum and proud of it. In Smart Kids, he plays a variety of instruments (again, sort of), engineers and mixes the records all while making sure Jeff loves every minute of what he does. If Jeff likes it, Matt knows it’s good. More of his work is on his website.