Systems Officer

It is Friday and you know what that means!!? Actually, I am not really sure what that means, but I am sure you readers do? Friday could mean a bunch of things, so I am not going to try and guess what you people are thinking, geese! That was a joke, people. Enough romance, last post I had talked about discovering Montalban Quintet at a Systems Officer concert. Well, now it is time to actually talk about my experience with Systems Officer! This band is a solo project of Armistead Burwell Smith IV aka Zach Smith, who also is in a few great San Diego based bands, like Pinback and Three Mile Pilot. Systems Officer has the same feel as Pinback, but I would say it feels more emotional. Upon seeing Zach play live, it was obvious that these songs are played with real emotion. Not that his other bands are not played like that; I am sure they are. The reason it is probably a little different because this is all Zach, not just Zach and the rest of Pinback or Three Mile Pilot. It is very focused and has that classic Zach Smith sound to it. All I could think about during the show was, "man, this guy is one of the most talented musicians I have ever seen live." This guys takes the bass guitar and takes it to a whole other level. When you listen to Systems Officer, you are thinking that most of the sounds came from an electric guitar when actually it was mostly done with just bass. Zach's bass playing changes my whole view on how songs can be arranged; however, I am not here to talk about song structure, so I will just leave that one alone. Not only is Zach an excellent bass player, he is also one of the coolest, most down to earth people I have had the pleasure to meet. I came up to him before the show and talked about how I have seen his other band, Pinback a bunch of times. Seriously, I probably have seen Pinback ten times within the past 5 years. He did not seem annoyed or bored when I talked to him, which was a great feeling. He said that he was excited to finally get the band (Systems Officer) on tour for the first time, and that he looks forward to keep moving on with both Pinback and Systems Officer. Towards the end of our conversation he stated that he really appreciates having such a loyal fan base, and as long as people are willing to come out and see him, then he will continue to make music. It is obvious Zach Smith is still loves playing music. When he is on stage, you can tell he is passionate about the music. Enough romance, Systems Officer has an EP, a full length album, Underslept, and he is currently writing a new album due out next summer. Go out and get Systems Officer, it is one of the few good bands out there!

You can purchase Systems Officer music at  http://temporaryresidence.com/