We’ve posted recently about the upcoming Sonny & The Sunsets album, but at the same time, Secret Seven Records are releasing Sonny Smith’s solo album One Act Plays that was originally recorded in 2006 and is being released here on vinyl for the first time in an edition of 400 hand numbered copies.
The record started out as real one act plays written for the theatre, but in writing them he began to make them songs at some point. However, ultimately the plays as songs were performed on stage in a play called The Dangerous Stranger, so somehow it came full circle.
Smith says “The Dangerous Stranger was supposed to be about reality being the dangerous intruder of fantasy, and fantasy being a dangerous intruder to reality. I can’t remember if the play was successful at conveying this idea at all. That was the kinda stuff on my mind at the time I guess. I had a few influences at the time I was writing them. One was Terry Allen’s Juarez, a concept record with recurring characters. Also I was really into Sam Shepard at the same time so I was reading a lot of his stuff. A few of the songs, like ‘Eddie and Rita’ even have some stage directions lifted directly from one of his plays. The song ‘Following Father’ took a bunch of facts from my dad’s cousin, a Texan who always had some get rich quick scheme that never lasted. I was trying to make some kind of Tennessee Williams like thing apparently. Epic! Large! Family! Redemption! Well, anyway, most of these plays are fictional, except for ‘Freaks In Space’ and ‘Honey Roy Rockwell’. Those two are the complete truth. The terrible truth.”
The record features a number of notable guest appearances including Neko Case, Edith Frost, Mark Eitzel, Jolie Holland, Andy Cabic, and John Dwyer and sees a release on August 5th. You can pre-order a copy from Secret Seven direct by clicking here.
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