Formed in September of 1999, Patty Hurst Shifter immediately began to attract the attention of local music fans with their direct and unpretentious delivery of well crafted songs set off by punchy, melodic guitar lines and a rock solid rhythm section. Here, at last, and once again, a true band had emerged from the constant forming and reforming of musical groups in central North Carolina.

And an unexpected chemistry it was as well. There was only supposed to be one show with ten days to rehearse. To make a long story short, the band had entirely too much fun to stop playing together. In addition to this serendipitous amalgamation, the band was offered a recording budget by local label Ricebox Records at that fateful first show. Patty Hurst Shifter took their loose, rollicking sound into Byron McCay's JAG studios, and put just enough shine on it to make "one of the best records ever printed in the southeast", "Beestinger Lullabies".

The combination of Chris Smith's superb songwriting skills and voice, rich with local color, Marc Smith's "sometimes subtle, sometimes scorching" guitar playing, and the teaming of Johny Williams' bass guitar and Skillet Gilmore's drums, has brought to life a band of unquestionable worth.

"From the time I was about 17 until I was 22, I completely swore off listening to the radio," he continued. "All I listened to were blues and jazz and mix tapes given to me by these guys I worked with. Greg Elkins told me, after hearing me do some acoustic shows, that the way I sang and the way I structured my songs reminded him of John Prine. But I'd say I pretty much missed the boat on the alt.country thing." As far as the rootsy sound of "Beestinger Lullabies" is concerned, Chris Smith attributes some of that to Marc's guitar playing.

"Marc learned to play guitar listening to REM, and you can probably hear some of that on these songs," Chris said. "Peter Buck played on some of that Uncle Tupelo stuff, you know, so he's a rootsy kinda guitarist. Marc did work awfully hard to put the rock in my John Prine-inflected songs. And when we got in this studio, we sorted out more about our sound than we ever did before. Everybody did their part. Byron's fond of saying that it's not what the song can do for your part, but what your part can do for the song."

"I don't mean I didn't want to budge at all," he continued. "It was just that I wasn't going to let someone change what I thought was a good song already. If they felt a change was the right thing, they were gonna have to show me why rather than just say it. Bryon and I did go 'round and 'round about mixing and levels and such, but we struck a balance. I remember thinking at the time -- and I still believe this -- that doing this album was the most difficult thing I've ever done, from an emotional standpoint."

Ryan Adams:

"Really incredible songs.
Patty Hurst Shifter rocks ass!"