Jeffrey Ryan Smoots is a guitarist and composer that has been recording his work in numerous bands since 1986. His two main projects now are J.R.S (a solo project) and Inner Resonance (a progressive band). Jeffrey took the time to answer our questions and demonstrated a great predisposition to do the interview.

Good question! Something I hadn't thought of before. I think I consider myself more of a composer than a guitar virtuoso. To me, guitar virtuosos are people like Eric Johnson, Steve Vai-people who have devoted all their energy to the guitar.

Now I don't want to put myself down, but I'm don't see myself in the guitar virtuoso class. I love the guitar, but I equally love songwriting. Being into progressive rock, I need to have good chops, so I continue to practice guitar regularly. I try and spend an equal amount of time composing music. Lately, I've been trying to expand my horizons by writing in different styles (electronica, and classical, for example.

I have two main things going, my band Inner Resonance, and my solo projects.

My band, Inner Resonance, recently rounded out its line up to a four piece. We added Brian Mathiason on bass, and Moyer Smith (formerly of McQueen Street) on drums. We're busy now writing our second album. We've actually completed most of the compositions for the album, and are now rehearsing and refining the songs. Our singer, Peter Orullian, is busy writing lyrics for the album, which will be a concept album. Our working title for this album is "The Dark Comedy".

As for my solo projects, I've been writing music in other genres, as a way of stretching and growing as a composer. Awhile back I released an electronica album, called Spank Your Inner Child. This was an experiment for me: try to write short (i.e. more commercially acceptable) songs, using only keyboards, yet still include some progressive elements, like interesting drum rhythms, key changes, solos, etc.

In between working on the Inner Resonance CD, I'm also writing a classical album. This is another experiment for me, forcing me to think and compose in new ways. I hope that these experiments with other styles will improve my progressive rock compositions.

Well, I laugh at some of it, and enjoy the rest! We were trying to make melodic, Queensryche-like music in a period when grunge was becoming popular. Consequently, we never had a large following in Seattle. Everyone was busy buying Nirvana, and being impressed by simple, grungy music. They didn't want to hear metal, or shredding guitar solos. Perhaps if we had being doing our thing a few years earlier, we would have been more popular.

Anyway, I had a good time, got to play clubs in Seattle, and act like a rock star. It was a fun time in my life.

I approached Dean Zelinsky, founder of Dean Guitars, and now head of A & R for Dean Musical Instruments. I sent him a demo CD, and explained how interested I was in their Dean EVO seven-string guitar. A few weeks later, I received an email telling me that I'd been accepted as an official Dean endorsee. As you can imagine, I was excited!

A few weeks later, I received my Dean EVO Special Seven, which is my main guitar. It's a seven string electric, with a Les Paul shape. It has a quilt maple arch top, and mahogany neck and body. All in all, a beautiful guitar, both to play, and to look at!

In return for the endorsement, it's my job to help promote and inform people about the excellent instruments Dean is producing. I promote them on my websites, and in interviews (like this one!).

I must say, this endorsement has been a very positive experience for me.

My main guitar is the Dean EVO Special Seven. I'm using the seven string guitars all the time now. In fact, I'll be getting Dean's acoustic 7 seven string soon, so I can play seven string acoustically.

My sound is created using the Digitech 2120 Valve Guitar Preamp. It has a tube preamp, and tons of digital effects. This unit is so powerful, that I don't use any other effects. I just go from the Digitech into a power amp, then to my ADA 2 x 12" speaker cabinets.

Yes, musical theory has had a huge impact on me, both in my composition and in my solo playing. Knowledge of scales, modes, keys, etc. opens up music and makes anything possible. I highly, highly, recommend all musicians learn as much as they can about music theory. It's like learning to read-it opens up your universe. Check out my website, www.jrsmoots.com for some online lessons to get you started.

Well, I'm pretty happy with it. As I said before, it was an experiment for me, trying to write in a style that I'm unfamiliar with. I'm a perfectionist, so when I listen back to it, I hear things I might change. But, overall, I'm pleased with it. It was a learning experience for me. I have a new appreciation for electronica composers!

What can you tell me about Sonic Implant sounds?

Sonic Implants is a company that creates extremely realistic samples in a variety of formats. I use their Soundfont samples, with my Creative Labs Soundblaster Live card on my computer. What's exciting about Soundfonts is that anyone with a Soundblaster (like the AWE, Live, Platinum, etc) card can use the Sonic Implant samples and vastly improve the sound of music on their PC's.

I realize I sound like a salesman, but you really should check out their sounds. Long before I was a Sonic Implants endorsee, I was buying their Soundfonts and loving them. They have tons of examples on their website, www.sonicimplants.com. Give them a listen!

Oh, ancient history now!

Tempt was my first real band. We did a two-song demo, and got one song a compilation record. Remember vinyl records? Man, that was awhile ago. One day I was in a local record store, and I saw a copy of album for sale. That was very exciting for me. I was convinced that huge rock stardom was just around the corner! Well, reality has turned out a little different...

Hybrid was a punk rock/metal band I was in. We did a demo tape, and played live around Seattle. The music was pretty aggressive, and we were intent on playing fast. Looking back, I have no idea why I was making music like this. I mean, I'm a huge Rush fan, and here I am making punk metal! I had a good time though. I was able to convince the other guys in the band to play Rush songs once in awhile, so I got my Rush occasionally!

Yngwie Malmsteen: Huge influence. Ever since I first heard his song Black Star, I was enthralled. I love his combination of classical and metal. I love his vibrato. I learned the harmonic minor scale from his records, and I use it all the time! My own compositions are influenced by him.

Paul Gilbert: For awhile, I wanted to be the fastest guitarist in the world. Paul Gilbert was doing absolutely unreal playing in Racer X, and I really enjoyed it. This was at a time when guitar playing was almost an athletic competition. Everyone was shredding, trying to be the fastest, and I wanted to take part. I think the lesson I learned from Paul was to play accurately. Before hearing Racer X, I was kinda sloppy. After hearing Paul shred, I cleaned up my act.

I enjoy Paul's solo albums. He's writing pop songs now, but he still has that killer guitar going. I also love the recent Racer X reunion CD.

Vinnie Moore: Another excellent player. I have a few of his albums. I think Vinnie was one of the first shredders to really concentrate on writing good compositions. He was concerned with more than just playing really fast. I respected that, and learned from it.

David Chastain: Great player and nice guy too. I keep sending him music, trying to get him to sign me to his label! He's helping keep progressive music alive and kicking, and for that I thank him.

I just want to say thanks from the bottom of my heart for the support and kind words I've received from fans all over the world. Being independent and playing "unpopular" music puts me in the underground of the music scene. What I've learned though, is that the underground scene is strong and thriving. The fans are incredibly loyal and supportive. My message is: keep supporting the music you love! We don't have to buy the crap the major labels try to shove down our throats. Long live independent music!

Interviewed by Federico Marongiu

Tempt - CD (1988)

Of Sound Mind - CD (1989)

Hybrid - CD (1991)

Axis - CD (1991)

Prelude - demo (as Simple Truth) (1995)

Wings of Gold - CD (as J.R.S.) (1998)

Solar Voices - CD (as Inner Resonance) (1999)

Spank your Inner Child - CD (as J.R.S.) (2000)

Axis - Live in Seattle - CD (release of Axis live material from the early nineties) (2000)