Okay Lindon

Okay Lindon, an indie pop band from Middletown, Ohio, is the musical project of singer/songwriter Dustin Smith. Originally created in 2003 as a side-project, Okay Lindon is now the main voice for Smith's songs.

Early History

Dustin Smith began writing songs when he was just four years old. At age eleven, he learned to play bass to start a band with two brothers, Tyler and Jordan Elam who had recently moved into his neighborhood. Through the years, they started several bands and eventually would be known for their most successful endeavor, indie/punk band Goodwen, which they formed when they were still underclassmen in high school. In 2003, Smith started writing songs of his own aside from Goodwen, naming the project "Okay Lindon" after one of his co-workers, Kay Lindon. Okay Lindon's first record, "Distance Learning", was recorded on an 8-track recorder in Smith's bedroom in the spring of 2004. Because of limited recording space and equipment, the alum had a much more stripped and folk sound than Okay Lindon's future releases. After the record was recorded, Smith played a few acoustic shows as Okay Lindon, but mostly distributed the record at Goodwen performances.

teps

Connections through Goodwen lead Smith to meet future recording partner Chuck Smith. In early 2005, Chuck and Dustin began demoing some songs that Dustin had written for the next Okay Lindon record, "Steps". The two of them began tracking over the summer and the record was released in November 2005 shortly after Goodwen announced their upcoming breakup. With Chuck Smith on the drums and sharing guitar duties, Steps had a much more layered and completed sound [Abnoxious, Shawn April, 2007). [http://www.theneussubjex.com/issue70.htm "Issue 70/Reviews"] . "THE NEUS SUBJEX".] than 2004's "Distance Learning". Okay Lindon then began recruiting some members to play shows, and have been playing as a full band with rotating members ever since.

Money House Blessing and Makers Of

After the release of "Steps", Smith spent the next year playing bass for recording partner Chuck Smith's SeaBillows, and standing in as a fill-in bassist for fellow guitarist Eric Miller- in his band, Time Wasted Sleeping, but released no music of his own. This was due to a transitional period in Smith's style and influences. At this point he became more interested in exploring with droning electronic music, shoegazing, and Dream pop sounds. In 2006, Smith released a three-song EP under the name Money House Blessing. The EP received little attention but is marked as Smith's favorite release to this day. One year later, Smith released another three song EP from collaborative effort, Makers Of. Makers Of played only one show and broke up less than a month after the release of their EP. Since then Smith has released both Money House Blessing and Makers Of EPs together on one disc. Smith also compiled Okay Lindon's "Distance Learning" and "Steps" onto one disc together, suggesting he was "making room for something new."

Future

In August 2007 Smith started demoing new songs for what will be the first Okay Lindon record in nearly three years. According to Smith, the music on the next Okay Lindon record will be "a marriage between the older, poppier-Okay Lindon sound and the more lush projects I have been into these past two years." In February of 2008, Smith released an EP, "Anyone Can Smoke." The EP contains demo's from the upcoming Okay Lindon release as well as other rarities.

Loft Co

Okay Lindon is a member of Loft Co, a collective of various musicians/friends from Middletown, Ohio. Other Loft Co bands include Among Thieves, Orange Lazarus, Captain Dangerfoot, The Lethargy Machine, All Their Eyes, Delhi Drive, The Dewey Decimal System, Cumulus, The Invisible Strings, and more.

Discography

Albums

* "Distance Learning" (2004)
* "Steps" (2005)
* "Everything in Moderation (in production)

Other Releases

* "Anyone Can Smoke EP" (2008)

External links

* [http://www.myspace.com/okaylindon Okay Lindon's MySpace]
* [http://www.myspace.com/loftcorecords Loft Co Records]
* [http://www.sadbastardrecordings.com/ Okay Lindon at Sad Bastard Recordings]
* [http://www.daytonbands.com/cms/index.php?searchword=okay+lindon&option=com_search&Itemid= Okay Lindon on Dayton Band Directory]

References