# Chas Smith

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{{Short description|American author and musician (1957–2007)}}
'''Chas Smith''' (AKA Charles Vincent Smith) (1957–2007) was an American author, musician, radio personality, and a [Cleveland State University](/source/Cleveland_State_University) music instructor.

==Biography==
Smith taught and explored the cultural aspects of American Roots music for more than twenty years. He held both a bachelor's and a master's degree in music from Cleveland State University, where he offered “The Roots of Rock and Soul”, a class on American rock music and its roots,<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.csuohio.edu/class/com/clevelandstater/Archives/Vol%202/Issue%2016/highlights/highlights9.html |title=''Prof Plays Musical Interests'' by Meghan McVicker |access-date=2012-11-23 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160303205949/http://www.csuohio.edu/class/com/clevelandstater/Archives/Vol%202/Issue%2016/highlights/highlights9.html |archive-date=2016-03-03 |url-status=dead }}</ref> and he taught basic music composition to little children through a program with the [Cleveland Opera](/source/Cleveland_Opera) as a music mentor in grade schools.<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.csuohio.edu/class/com/clevelandstater/Archives/Vol%206/Issue%2017/highlights/highlights9.html |title=''Chas Smith Lives Music of Rock, Soul'' by Adam Mawson |access-date=2012-11-23 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160303204644/http://www.csuohio.edu/class/com/clevelandstater/Archives/Vol%206/Issue%2017/highlights/highlights9.html |archive-date=2016-03-03 |url-status=dead }}</ref>

Smith sang and played keyboards, bass guitar, and [theremin](/source/theremin) for more than 30 years in many different genres. He was in The Clocks (a.k.a. Radio Alarm Clocks), a popular Cleveland punk band in the late 1970s and early '80s,<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.csuohio.edu/class/com/clevelandstater/Archives/Vol%206/Issue%2017/highlights/highlights9.html |title=''Chas Smith Lives Music of Rock, Soul'' by Adam Mawson |access-date=2012-11-23 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160303204644/http://www.csuohio.edu/class/com/clevelandstater/Archives/Vol%206/Issue%2017/highlights/highlights9.html |archive-date=2016-03-03 |url-status=dead }}</ref> then he was keyboardist for the latter-day version of  [The Pagans](/source/The_Pagans).<ref>[http://subgenius.com/bigfist/pics13/CHAS_SMITH/index.html ''Bon Voyage Chas Smith'' in SubGenius.com]</ref> In 1993, he formed the band Einstein's Secret Orchestra (later called Einstein's Secret Outlaws), voted Best Electronic/Instrumental Band at the [Cleveland Free Times](/source/Cleveland_Free_Times) Music Awards in 2001,<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.csuohio.edu/class/com/clevelandstater/Archives/Vol%202/Issue%2016/highlights/highlights9.html |title=''Prof Plays Musical Interests'' by Meghan McVicker |access-date=2012-11-23 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160303205949/http://www.csuohio.edu/class/com/clevelandstater/Archives/Vol%202/Issue%2016/highlights/highlights9.html |archive-date=2016-03-03 |url-status=dead }}</ref> and produced two CDs of ESO's music, with others produced by the [SubGenius Foundation](/source/Church_of_the_SubGenius). He also toured with [Cobra Verde](/source/Cobra_Verde_(band)) as keyboardist from 1997 through the early 2000s, and played with the country-blues Americana band The Fullbrights.

He and the band ESO often appeared on stage with Rev. [Ivan Stang](/source/Ivan_Stang) of the [Church of the SubGenius](/source/Church_of_the_SubGenius), and perform on several of their CDs and DVDs. He spent more than 20 years creating soundscapes on his weekly ''SwampRadio ESO'' radio show at [WCSB](/source/WCSB-FM) in Cleveland.<ref>[http://subgenius.com/bigfist/pics13/CHAS_SMITH/index.html ''Bon Voyage Chas Smith'' in SubGenius.com]</ref> He performed live on-the-air comedy with Brain Rot Theater on Swamp Radio, and with Rev. Ivan Stang and the cast of The [Hour of Slack](/source/Hour_of_Slack), the Church of the SubGenius syndicated radio show.<ref>[http://subgenius.com/bigfist/pics13/CHAS_SMITH/index.html ''Bon Voyage Chas Smith'' in SubGenius.com]</ref> He was a board member of [A.C.E.](/source/Association_for_Consciousness_Exploration) and appeared at both the [Starwood Festival](/source/Starwood_Festival)[https://web.archive.org/web/20160303233042/http://www.witchvox.com/va/dt_va.html?a=usma&c=festivals&id=10028] and the WinterStar Symposium, offering both performances and classes on music history and electronic trance music, and hosted a dance event within the [Starwood Festival](/source/Starwood_Festival) called the "Rumble in the Jungle".<ref>[http://www.rosencomet.com/starwood/2008/showinfo.php?workshop=Rumble%20of%20the%20Dead ''Rumble of the Dead'']</ref>

Smith died on October 16, 2007, after suffering a [stroke](/source/stroke) complicated with [pneumonia](/source/pneumonia), and fighting a recurrent battle with [Hodgkin's lymphoma](/source/Hodgkin's_lymphoma) due to complications from the HIV virus, eventually leading to auto immune deficiency syndrome.<ref>[http://subgenius.com/bigfist/pics13/CHAS_SMITH/index.html ''Bon Voyage Chas Smith'' in SubGenius.com]</ref><ref>[https://archive.today/20130208022523/http://www.csucauldron.com/news/beloved-csu-professor-passes-away-1.1558728%23.UKzeg4b8n_c ''Beloved CSU Professor Passes Away'' by Ebony Cash]</ref>

On Friday November 23, 2007, a tribute event called '''Chasfest: The Rumble in the Urban Jungle''' was held at the Beachland Ballroom in his honor. All proceeds went to his family to help defray medical bills. Feature performers included [Cobra Verde](/source/Cobra_Verde_(band)), 14th Floor, Stardust Outlaws, The Fullbrights, Caelyn, the surviving members of Einstein's Secret Orchestra (including members from past incarnations of the group and Ron Slabe), a set by combined members of the bands [The Pagans](/source/The_Pagans), The Clocks, and Venus Envy, a drum circle that included several members of the [Association for Consciousness Exploration](/source/Association_for_Consciousness_Exploration) (who also contributed to the audio and provided video projection created by Rev. Ivan Stang of the Church of the SubGenius for the event), and a special guest appearance by Egyptian composer [Halim El-Dabh](/source/Halim_El-Dabh).<ref>[http://www.coolcleveland.com/wiki/Newsletter/Authenticity ''Listing in Cool Cleveland'']</ref>

==Bibliography==
*''From [Woodstock](/source/Woodstock) to the Moon: The Cultural Evolution of Rock Music'' (2001, Kendall-Hunt Publishing) {{ISBN|0-7872-7877-7}}, {{ISBN|978-0-7872-7877-9}} 
*''The Soul of Sunrise: Grassroots Music in America'' (2005, Kendall-Hunt Publishing), {{ISBN|0-7575-1566-5}}, {{ISBN|978-0-7575-1566-8}}
*''Rumble in the Jungle: The Soul of Indigenous Music in the Americas'' (2007, Kendall-Hunt Publishing), {{ISBN|0-7575-4293-X}}, {{ISBN|978-0-7575-4293-0}}

==Discography==

===Albums===
* ''The Pagans (the pink album)'' (1983) Terminal TERM - 7 (reissued in 1988 by Treehouse) (LP)
* ''Wake Me When It's Over'' - Radio Alarm Clocks (1983), After Hours Records (LP)
* ''Venus Envy'' - Venus Envy (1985), Herb Jackson Records
* ''Live From Studio "A"'' - The Clocks
* ''Circus Saints and Sinners'' - Fourteenth Floor - Synthetic Records
* ''XX-Day '99'' - Rev. Ivan Stang & Einstein's Secret Orchestra (1999), SubGenius Foundation
* ''PufferDome Devival'' - Rev. Ivan Stang & Einstein's Secret Orchestra (1999), SubGenius Foundation
* ''Witch Disco'' - Einstein's Secret Orchestra (1999), SwampRadio Records
* ''Nightlife'' - Cobra Verde (1999), Motel
* ''Sex in Another Dimension'' - Einstein's Secret Orchestra (2000), Swamp Music Records
* ''ESO Swamp Radio / Hour of Slack Best of #1'' - Rev. Ivan Stang, Chas Smith & Lonesome Cowboy Dave DeLuca (2001), SubGenius Foundation

===Video===
* ''X-Day 1998'' - Einstein's Secret Orchestra (1998) (VHS), SubGenius Foundation
* ''XX-Day '99'' - Rev. Ivan Stang & Einstein's Secret Orchestra (1999) (VHS), SubGenius Foundation
* ''5 X-Day'' - Einstein's Secret Outlaws (2002) (DVD), SubGenius Foundation

==References==
{{Reflist}}
* [http://subgenius.com/bigfist/pics13/CHAS_SMITH/index.html Pictures of Chas Smith] on SubGenius website
* Huff, John, ''12 Simple Rules for a Successful College Career'', ''The Cleveland Stater''
* O'Connor, Clint, ''Meet Prof. Rock'', ''[The Plain Dealer](/source/The_Plain_Dealer)'', July 2, 2002

{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Smith, Chas}}
Category:1957 births
Category:2007 deaths
Category:American SubGenii
Category:Deaths from pneumonia in Ohio
Category:Musicians from Cleveland

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Adapted from the Wikipedia article [Chas Smith](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chas_Smith) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chas_Smith?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.