Artist:Smoother
Song:East Side
Album:Chasing the Dragon
Smoother was a Canadian band that had chart success with the 2001 single East Side and the album Chasing the Dragon. They were even nominated for a Juno. They had potential but they split up after the album was released. Smoother was from Hamilton, ON. led by lead singer, guitarist and songwriter Andrew Franey. Other members were Todd Knight on guitar, James Flemings-Strange on keyboards, Beau Cook on bass and Adam Benning on drums. They were called Sponge when they started out in the early 90s. They signed with the Hamilton based indie label Sonic Unyon and released the 1993 album Trendbender on cassette. When it was discovered that there was already a band called Sponge, the band name was changed to Smoother. BTW, I hate that name. What is it supposed to mean? They released two more albums on Sonic Unyon and for the 2001 album Chasing the Dragon, they got a distribution deal with EMI Canada and Nettwerk in the US. The single East Side reached #11 on the Canada Airplay chart and #12 on the Sept. 2001 MuchMusic Countdown. Keep in mind there are Canadian Content regulations on radio and TV so success can be artificial. Franey wrote all the songs. Dave Hodge produced and engineered the album at his recording studio. This album is available on CD. East Side was featured in the 2002 Canadian film Men with Brooms. That was a comedy about curling. And Smoother was nominated for a 2002 Best New Group Juno award. The problem was EMI Canada was disappointed with album sales. I think they were going to drop Smoother but they split up anyway. Franey was the only member of Smoother who remained in the music business. He started his own label in 2015 and released a couple of albums. I don't know if he's still active as he last posted on Facebook in 2022. Here's the video for East Side by Smoother.
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