Ryan Shea Smith

After a long and difficult adjudication process, the song "Stay A While” written by Ryan Shea Smith & Scott Krippayne was selected as a Finalist in the Jazz category of the 2010 Session-II John Lennon Songwriting Contest. - The John Lennon Songwriting Contest

Ryan Shea Smith's "Thankful" wins second place in the Gospel division of the 11th Annual Unisong International Songwriting Contest! - Unisong

Ryan Shea Smith's "As Long As I'm With You" is the Second Place winne in the R&B / Hip-Hop / Rap division of the 12th Annual Unisong International Songwriting Contest! - Unisong

1st Prize – Gospel/Inspirational
Brighter Days - Ryan Shea Smith, Tyler Allen & Tony
Williams; Seattle, WA - USA Songwriting Competition

YAKIMA, Wash. -- Jonathan Kingham and Ryan Shea Smith can turn just about anything into a song.

Just ask the Discovery Lab middle school class that co-wrote "Rusty Robot Electric Sprinkler" with the Seattle-based duo earlier this week.

"Metal monkey, out in the snow," the song opens. "Straight out in the cold, nowhere to go. Old, cold and moldy in the backyard. Rusty old thing. Life is so hard."

Those lyrics, inspired by a prop metal contraption and followed by another verse and a chorus, were written in a classroom brainstorming session that Kingham and Smith held as part of a weeklong songwriting residency in local schools.

The pair are in town as headliners of the annual Laughing Ladies and Merry Men's Luncheon, the annual Allied Arts fundraiser for its youth programs. Visiting classrooms and holding their "Songwriting Made Simple" workshops is a specialty for Kingham and Smith, who augment their own writing and recording careers by teaching. The kids, they've found, can be prolific songwriters once someone gets them started.

More immediately, there's the matter of the Allied Arts fundraiser. Along with the Fresh Hop Ale Festival, the Laughing Ladies and Merry Men's Luncheon is a big part of what keeps the nonprofit community arts organization afloat. With Kingham and Smith as this year's entertainment, the show promises a mix of smart lyrics and accessible performances. With Smith on keyboards and Kingham singing and playing guitar, their on-stage dynamic is generally light-hearted and easygoing.

"We're real comfortable with each other on stage," says Smith, who with Kingham has played to crowds of thousands, and to virtually empty barrooms. "And I think that makes the audience feel comfortable."

Well, except perhaps "Rusty Robot Electric Sprinkler," the one he and Smith co-wrote this week with the Discovery Lab students.

That one is about, as Smith says, "a lot of clowning and getting over the kids' barriers." It's about how anyone who wants to be a songwriter is a songwriter already. - Yakima Herald

(Seattle, WA) It was a sold out crowd last night, October 18th, at Jazz Alley as people lined up to get in to see local Jazz artist Ryan Shea Smith. Smith played the “KWJZ Secret Show” featuring songs from his latest release Stay Awhile. The night was filled with incredibly smooth vocals, warm melodies and lyrics straight from the heart and the audience enjoyed surprise special guest performances from local musical greats Jonathan Kingman and Scott Krippayne. Ryan took the stage at 7:30pm surrounded by the musical support of amazing Seattle Jazz artists Hans Teuber on sax and flute, Michael Eads on guitar, John Hamar on upright bass, Roger Wood on the Hammond B-3, James Michael Smith, Jr. on alto sax and special guest vocals from Stephanie Porter. Ryan Shea Smith and his band received a standing ovation and performed one encore set. His first single from Stay Awhile, “As Long As I’m With You”, is currently receiving several spins a day on KWJZ.

The CD – Stay Awhile features 12 original songs produced by Josh Evans and Ryan Shea Smith. All tracks feature Seattle’s renowned bassist Jeff Johnson and Eric Eagle on drums as the core of this jazz experience. Stay Awhile includes several other local favorites who served as songwriters, backup vocalist and musicians on the CD. Stephanie Porter, Mycle Wastman, Vicci Martinez, and Arturo Rodriguez are just a few of those artists who contributed to this endeavor. “Stay Awhile” features everything from the soulful lyrics of “As Long As I’m With You” to the sweet melody of “Waltz for Dorothy” featuring Hans Teuber on sax to the heartbreak of “Tryin’ to Get By” written by Jonathan Kingham, Scott Krippayne, and Ryan Shea Smith.

Stay Awhile is available for purchase on iTunes. CD Baby recommends Ryan Shea Smith if you like Harry Connick, Jr., Norah Jones, and Jamie Cullum. - Laura Rieder

The Weekly Volcano likes to say, "Everything is jazz," but, in truth, we don't really believe it. Only SOME things are actually jazz, and the way Ryan Shea Smith tickles the ivories definitely qualifies. The highly regarded Seattle native will visit Tacoma Community College Friday and drop a concert sure to be ripe with excitement and spontaneity - two of Smith's many musical qualities. Others include smarts, soul and - yes - jazziness. Smith's show at TCC also features the Marriot Brothers and Stephanie Porter. - Weekly Volcano