Kent Smedley

I began playing the guitar at the age of 4 under the supervision of my Father, an accomplished trumpet player. At the age of 10 I began formal music lessons, studying the Guitar, Piano and Voice. At the age of 14 I began studying the Piano with Ileana Fernandez, Principal Keyboardist with the Jacksonville Symphony Orchestra. At the age of 15 I began teaching Guitar, Piano and Music Theory with the encouragement and supervision of my music instructors. At the age of 17 I began studying Classical Guitar with James Chandler at Jacksonville University, and Jazz Guitar with Gary Starling at Jacksonville University. At this time I was also performing 4 to 5 nights a week in clubs around the Jacksonville area with the rock band Enchanter. After less than 1 years Enchanter disbanded, and I prepared to enter the University of North Floridas Jazz Program. At UNF I studied Jazz Guitar with the legendary Jack Petersen, founder of the guitar programs at Berklee and the University of North Texas. During this time I studied music theory and composition with Dr. William Prince and played in the UNF Jazz Band under the direction of Bruce Silva. At the same time I was still actively studying the Classical Guitar with James Chandler and attending Master Classes with Stephen Robinson of Stetson University. In 1988 my brother, Brent Smedley, and I founded the hard rock band Prodigy. From its inception Prodigy was primarily an original band intent on becoming an established international act. After 1 year of performing and writing Prodigy recorded its first full album in the Fall of 1989. This was followed by over 1 year of intense touring in support of the album, opening shows for Megadeth, Pantera, Yngwie Malmsteen, and many other established international recording artists. In 1990 Prodigy received the award of Best Heavy Metal Band if Florida from the most prominent Florida music magazine, JAM Magazine. This helped Prodigy secure an international recording contract in 1992, and our album was released in Europe and Japan under the name Oracle, due to trademark issues with another band of the same name. This release was followed by yet more touring and promotion. Sadly, with a new album in the works and prospects for a European headlining tour on the horizon, the band split up due to internal tensions. After this intense experience I continued to teach Guitar and write music. In the mid-90s I recorded with recording artist Kitae, did session work and recorded my own material. I the late-90s I joined the Jazz/Fusion group Manic Expression and wrote and recorded an album with them. After this group disbanded I sang in 80s cover band Spicolis Dream. During this time I also performed numerous Classical guitar concerts and continued teaching and writing music. In 2000 I formed the neo-classical hard rock/metal band Odyssey with my brother Brent Smedley. We wrote an album and recorded a demo while playing gigs to hone our live show. Currently, I am recording a solo melodic hard-rock album that should be finished later this year. I have a sample of the new material on my website, www.kentsmedley.com.