Shay Smith was born a musician. The youngest of three musical brothers, he grew up around keyboards, guitars, drums, singing, and an abundance of good tunes on the stereo. Even though he had toy instruments to experiment with as a toddler and started piano lessons as soon as he learned to read, it wasn't until he got his first real guitar that he knew music was going to be a big part of his life. Ever since he got that Strat at the age of 10, Shay has been writing music. Four years later, when he got a decent acoustic guitar, the game changed. It was no longer about how loud and fast he could play, but how deeply he could explore the fretboard and his songwriting. Over time his influences have ranged from Pearl Jam to Sufjan Stevens, Sigur Ros to Ratatat, and The Strokes to Hans Zimmer. But whether he's composing soundtrack-style instrumentals, busy electronic beats, or just experimenting with how many delays he can stack on his electric guitar, Shay Smith's true passion is making music in which people can find substantial meaning. After graduating from college, Shay had a set of goals in mind: move to Austin, get a band together, and start playing shows. The first was accomplished and the second hasn't panned out, but that's not going to keep him from doing what he loves - playing music. <a href="https://www.last.fm/music/Shay+Smith">Read more on Last.fm</a>. User-contributed text is available under the Creative Commons By-SA License; additional terms may apply.