I met Zach Lycans in our single-digit years. The lovable outcasts of society, we connected as music lovers and general nerds. We were the guys in our youth groups that went to concerts for the music and to talk to the bands while our peers just flirted with each other. Over time, we started writing and recording music together, and now, 10 years later, we're still making music together with 1200 miles between us. We had an idea about 2 years ago, to write and record some basic song structures as a sort of exercise. A new project called Innocent Smith (named after the hero of G.K. Chesterton's "Manalive"), it would cover more serious themes than our previous endeavors, but still be very real to who we are.
We struggled at first with what to write about. And then it struck us, the death of our friend and mentor, a man we simply called "Uncle Jud," who helped us tremendously through these growing up years. We had about 5 years of interaction with the old boat builder, learning from him about what really matters in life. He taught us what it means to be men of integrity, men of God. And most of all, he inspired us to be just that. And in November of 2010, we said goodbye. The night before he died, I had a dream that we talked all night on the phone, but when we hung up, I couldn't remember a word of the long conversation. This is when I awoke and received word shortly after that he'd passed. There were two feelings which overcame me in the weeks and months to follow. There was the profound grief of loss, but there was also the distant sweetness of his memory. I felt a deep emptiness in my chest, and at the same time the familiar comfort I felt when sitting with him in his daughter's carport during a storm. I could cry myself to sleep, wanting to hears his voice one last time, and find myself also laughing at the memory of his inquisitive tone when joking with us at his dinner table. The balance of these two emotions, I realized then - that is growing up as a man of God. And that was what I wanted to capture in this new project. The joyful pain, the gainful loss, the crippled hip for God's glory, the stuff life is made of.
Three of the songs on this debut album are specifically about Uncle Jud (Legacy, pts. 1, 2, and 3), but he really inspired the whole project. So we've dedicated the album to him and named it in his honor. For a boat builder who got slowed down by health problems and found the Lord in this time of rest. Ladies and gentlemen, Innocent Smith presents "Losing Lungs, Finding God."
Please feel free to pre-order "Losing Lungs, Finding God"
on our Bandcamp page HERE and receive 4 exclusive tracks
plus the single "Pine Needles" immediately