I am Bob Smith, a musician, writer, and IT professional. I have been doing all three for a very long time.

The Static Dive is my solo project. I am a multi-instrumentalist composer and producer, a voting member of the Recording Academy (Grammys), and the co-owner of a record label.

On this blog I go behind the scenes of my music production process.

Well, how did I get here?

I was born in 1970 in Englewood, New Jersey. By the time I was five, my family had moved to upstate NY, where I was raised and where I reside today.

Growing up, I was a smart poor kid with rich friends, raging ADHD, insatiable curiosity, a hearty appetite for alcohol, and a strong work ethic. I first picked up the guitar at 16.

After flip-flopping through college, and a year working at Disney World, I started the ska/jam band Shu in 1993, with a group of guys who are still like family to me today. We toured the Northeast college scene throughout the 90s. It was a great way to spend our twenties.

We are less active now but we still play together on occasion. In 2023 we released a new album to commemorate our 30th anniversary.

In the early 2000s I co-founded the music research company HitPredictor.com with some industry heavies. As the head techie and writer, I worked day-to-day with major label executives and radio stations across the country.

The company is now defunct, but here is an article my local paper ran when we were at our peak. During that time I wrote for Billboard magazine and had a weekly newspaper column. I eventually even had my own TV and radio shows for awhile.

Somewhere amid it all I got married, had the best kid ever, got divorced, sobered up, made lots of music, established a successful career as an IT professional, and built a beautiful life with my partner Sarah.

In 2018 I launched The Static Dive, and a popular music blog of the same name. I was signed to a small German label for a couple years. Then in 2021 I started House of Static Records with my best bud Kilo House (aka SxR LÜCÏFËR).

Same as it ever was

I’ve written and recorded thousands of songs since I picked up my first Fender on Christmas morning way back 1986. I still make music every day, because I have yet to find a better use of my time.

I’m still that insatiably curious kid. But now I’m sober, smarter, and more caffeinated. And I will always be driven by the relentless Irish work ethic mom brought with her on the boat from Co. Mayo.

I hope you enjoy all my odd little experiments, extended ramblings, and occasional flashes of brilliance. However it turns out, I hope you enjoy listening to the music even half as much as I love making it.

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