Tommy Joe Smith

Tommy Joe Smith has been around music for his entire life. He grew up in the days of the cassette tape and regularly heard Johnny Cash, George Jones, Merle Haggard, and Waylon Jennings.

Once he was able to start making some of his own musical choices, those included Elvis Presley, The Beach Boys, and Jerry Lee Lewis.

Another early musical influence was John Stamos. (yes, you read that correctly) Uncle Jesse from the t.v. show 'Full House' could play guitar and piano and was an actual drummer for The Beach Boys. (that's why they were always on Full House)

In 1996, Tommy started 6th grade band as a percussionist. Throughout junior high and high school, he was a member of Beginning Band, High School Band, Jazz Band, and Marching Band. But his favorite was playing before school basketball games and during half-time, because that's where they played songs that were on the radio.

This is also around the time that his dad showed Tommy a few chords on the guitar at Tommy's request after discovering The Buddy Holly Story.

After graduating high school, Tommy spent a few years in Louisville, Kentucky training to be a professional wrestler, but once returning to Oklahoma, he quickly began acquiring musical instruments and equipment.

In 2011, he and four other guys started a red-dirt, southern-rock, country band called Oklahoma Six-Gun Saints. They spent two years performing live and recorded an album. When the band members decided to go their separate ways, Tommy dug into performing covers on acoustic guitar and piano and began spending many nights watching a local Dueling Piano show to expand his song repertoire and knowledge of audience participation.

In 2016, Tommy began writing songs of his own and opened a private recording studio. Sand Dunes Recording Service encompasses recording and production of Tommy's projects, as well as for outside clients, specifically singer-songwriters and duos.

Tommy continues to perform live gigs, at festivals, and attends notable songwriting events, including a workshop at The Church Studio in Tulsa, OK, a Pitch to Publishers week with Barbara Cloyd in Nashville, TN, and a songwriter's weekend with Rock N Roll royalty Jerry Phillips (son of Sam Phillips) at Sam Phillips Recording Service in Memphis, TN.