Awful news. I hope Smitty knew how much he was loved. I will certainly miss him.

Rest easy, Smitty.

Back on the last page, someone was talking about Smitty's vast knowledge of music and his gift at story-telling. Those are the things I will remember most about him. As well as seeing him after shows in Athens when he was drenched and spent and you knew he'd enjoyed the hell out of the show.

So sorry for everyone. Rest easy Smitty.

I did not know him well, but feel like I knew him and wish I had gotten to know him better. Passionate intellect, welcoming and open and always in the moment. All love and faith to his family. I will miss his presence, most especially the next time I set foot in our beloved Athens. RIP Brother

Smitty's birthday was last week. I hadn't been in touch with him in a few months so I sent him a message. Here's his reply - just 2 days before he passed.

beantownbubba wrote: ↑

Thu Oct 07, 2021 6:19 pm

Clams wrote: ↑

Thu Oct 07, 2021 1:13 pm

If you know any songs that he loved, let me know and I'll add them.

Smitty was passionate about Richmond Fontaine and Willy Vlautin. I know you've got some RF in the mix and I don't know either Willy's or the band's catalog well enough to make specific suggestions, but you can't go wrong w/ more of either one. Probably Todd Snider too.

Very telling that Smitty identified so much with Willy Vlautin's music and books because he really lived (and died) like a character in a Richmond Fontaine or Delines song.

smitty was a rock and roll song. memorialized by many, lasting forever.

I am in the same boat of intermittently supporting Smitty with $$$ through the dark times. Having lost a good friend a few years back who refused treatment, I know one thing:

Smitty made it to rehab, so all our collective efforts helped him survive long enough to get help... while his untimely end may have been inevitable, I am 100% sure he would not have made it to rehab or even had a chance of surviving without these collective efforts. All we can do is grieve, love, and appreciate everyone and everything and every day we have.

phungi wrote: ↑

Fri Oct 08, 2021 8:53 am

Smitty made it to rehab, so all our collective efforts helped him survive long enough to get help... while his untimely end may have been inevitable, I am 100% sure he would not have made it to rehab or even had a chance of surviving without these collective efforts. All we can do is grieve, love, and appreciate everyone and everything and every day we have.

I think this is very wise. It's awful easy to blame oneself for helping/not helping; for some reason, it's harder to accept small good things in between.

cortez the killer wrote: ↑

Thu Oct 07, 2021 12:21 pm

Smitty's last post

Last active: Wed Oct 06, 2021 1:22 pm
Also, is this accurate? If so, damn.

Now I know one more song. Damn. If you want to make a living, you got to put on a good show indeed.

Yeah, I went through my messages and found our last correspondence. It was late April and he let me know he was checking into rehab. I had passed on his previous request for cash for all the reasons we’ve discussed.

Once he said he was heading to rehab, I changed my tune. My response to him was “Done. Good luck. Hope you find peace and stability.”

But not like this. Damn it.

One of the tragedies of his passing is that Smitty really had one hell of a story to tell, and it’s never going to get told the way it should be.

I realize that’s absolutely nothing compared to 4 kids growing up without their daddy, or a momma burying her son, but he had something to give the world at large too.

I may be staying what’s on a lot of our minds, but I’m wondering if the family needs help with funeral expenses???

Could we set up a fund for Ladonna and kids? Educational expenses???

I listened to Grand Canyon last night while doing dishes and thought of our friend.

I’m smiling right now thinking of how sweaty Smitty would get a rock show; then he would hug me and then get me all wet.

I almost edited the “get me all wet” part, but I have to think Smitty is laughing his ass off at the unintended sexual innuendo!

Beaverdam wrote: ↑

Fri Oct 08, 2021 12:24 pm

I’m smiling right now thinking of how sweaty Smitty would get a rock show; then he would hug me and then get me all wet.

I almost edited the “get me all wet” part, but I have to think Smitty is laughing his ass off at the unintended sexual innuendo!

Funnier with a user name Beaverdam.

cortez the killer wrote: ↑

Fri Oct 08, 2021 12:52 pm

Funnier with a user name Beaverdam.

And I was just gonna go with "unintended," huh? Well done, sir.

Beaverdam wrote: ↑

Fri Oct 08, 2021 12:24 pm

I’m wondering if the family needs help with funeral expenses???

Inquiries are being made and plans will follow. I (or someone) will let y'all know as soon as possible.

Iowan wrote: ↑

Fri Oct 08, 2021 10:30 am

One of the tragedies of his passing is that Smitty really had one hell of a story to tell, and it’s never going to get told the way it should be.

I realize that’s absolutely nothing compared to 4 kids growing up without their daddy, or a momma burying her son, but he had something to give the world at large too.

THIS.

Just heard the news today and it truly breaks my heart. Smitty was a great guy with an incredible knowledge of music. I never met him in person but we used to talk over PM and we traded music. He turned me onto a lot of music but mostly Todd Snider. Todd is now one of my favorites and I owe that to Smitty. We hadn't talked since 2020 but I will never forget him. Sending love to LaDonna and the kids. RIP Smitty.

Thank you for letting us know how to help the kids financially. Equally important to me is if we could capture our memories of Smitty at his best. These words may provide comfort in the near term and insight and understanding for his children when they are older. I was especially struck by Gang Green’s sentence: I learned not to judge someone based on where they were from. The Smitty I knew had that power, stemming from a combination of his intellect and willingness to engage and empathize.

Like the rest of you, I felt like someone had punched me in the gut when I saw on FB where Smitty had passed. He was one of the few members from here that I communicated with regularly at various times on FB, and as someone else mentioned, I too have struggled with the decision not to keep sending him money when he'd ask. I'm glad I did get to meet him at the Terry Pace benefit show in Florence back in 2014, and I'm sad to think about the family and friends he left behind, especially his 4 children.

Wish the pic was still available that is part of this exchange from the Pictures of You thread. It’s a classic pic of Smitty and classic Smitty in the exchange.

Smitty was a unicorn. Rock on, Smitty.

Smitty wrote: ↑

Tue Aug 14, 2012 9:20 pm

dime in the gutter wrote:

Smitty wrote:

pic from my redneck goth days, circa 2002

love the snuff and black nail polish.....is that berry flavored? and how did you not get the shit kicked out of you every weekend?

yes, berry skoal, had to be when it first came out cuz I hated that sweet shit... oddly enough, I was the "accepted" weirdo, I had a buddy who did get shit if he ever dressed or acted the way I did, and it drove him crazy that I could get away with it and he couldn't...

Mrs Swamp found this in her archives and posted it on her FB page.
We saw a lot of shows during the 2007 Dirt Underneath tour. In Sept
we were at the Variety Play house in Atlanta. Mrs S usually films but wanted
to take some pics so she handed me the camera. Every time I panned to Neff,
there was Smitty.

Sigh......very sad. What else can you say? Especially when kids are involved.
Addiction is a terrible thing. Many of us here have dealt with it and overcome it. Some of us are still "functional".

Personally, I've been drinking 12 beers & smoking 2 packs of Marlboro reds a day for thirty years. Not to mention my lifelong love of weed.
Thankfully, I got a C.T/PET scan on a whim recently! My biopsy is scheduled for next Monday. There but for the grace of God, go I.

For those who helped the guy with a little cash, don't beat yourselves up. You were trying to help a friend.
I'm sure I have asked MANY of you to buy one of my books over the years...so, I can relate.

Hey, when you are trying to help someone, you do what you can... without asking questions.
Sometimes it works, sometimes shit is beyond your control.

I'm sure Smitty appreciated all of those who cared enough to reach out, check in, or just answer the phone when he called.

Godspeed, brother.

"Don't let us get sick. Don't let us get old. Don't let us get stupid, all right.
Just make us be brave and make us play nice and let us be together tonight."
Warren Zevon

Saw the horrible news on fb the other day but haven't been able to respond until now. Still don't know what to say other than this sucks and hurts. Only met him briefly in person at a few HC's but always enjoyed his insight and contributions to this site. As many others have experienced I had some dialogue via fb-messenger over the course of the last year or so, and understood he was in trouble. In our last convo I got the impression that he was in the process of checking into some form of rehab, so I allowed myself to be kind of optimist about his future.

RIP Smitty. You will be missed.

Most of you know by now of the passing of our dear Heathen friend, Brandon "Smitty" Smith. Many of you have asked how you might be able to honor Smitty and ease the burden on the family.

What you can do is make a donation of any amount to the account we have set up for smitty's family within the help4heathens Paypal account. The money donated will be given entirely to the family. Just log in to Paypal, select "send money" and insert help4heathens@gmail.com in the recipient box and indicate that you're "sending to a friend" so that no fees are deducted by paypal. Please use the notes section to say something like "for the Smith Family" and to include any personal note you would like to be forwarded to the family.

Your generosity has always been overwhelming. Many thanks on behalf of LaDonna and the kids for whatever you can do.

EDIT: Please note that you can make a contribution using Paypal w/out having an account on paypal. If you have any questions about this please post them here (my pm function isn't working).

Please see the edit above re using Paypal even if you don't have an account on that service.

How horribly, tragically sad.

I mostly just lurk here, but Smitty was a guy I'd see at shows and think "I know who he is from the internet." I wouldn't make a point of looking for him at shows, he was just so often there. Good energy and vibes to his family -- especially his children, my goodness -- his friends, and everyone who loves him.

To those of you second-guessing yourselves over sending him money or whatever, please don't. You made the best decision you could with the information you had at the time.

I haven't been able to sign into the board because I kept receiving an error message that the site was unsafe or some such. For whatever reason, it's working now. I felt about as close to Smitty as anyone I've ever met online but never actually met in person. I had hoped that day would come. Unfortunately, it never will. We stayed in touch via FB but communication had dropped off in recent months. I knew he was dealing with hard times but had no idea what the extent of them were. I seemed to remember that he and jimmyjack (James Jackson Toth) had plans to write a book on DBT, maybe one on every song, I don't remember the details but for some reason, those plans fell through. When I heard about Smitty, jimmyjack is one of the first folks I thought of. He doesn't do FB anymore but he is on Twitter and Instagram so I reached out to him via Instagram to relate the sad news. He sends his condolences and love to everyone.

Kudzu Guillotine wrote: ↑

Mon Dec 27, 2021 10:32 pm

I seemed to remember that he and jimmyjack (James Jackson Toth) had plans to write a book on DBT, maybe one on every song, I don't remember the details but for some reason, those plans fell through. When I heard about Smitty, jimmyjack is one of the first folks I thought of. He doesn't do FB anymore but he is on Twitter and Instagram so I reached out to him via Instagram to relate the sad news. He sends his condolences and love to everyone.

Hey, KG. Good to see you though once again I note the frequency with which bad news brings us together in ways that good news doesn't.

Yes, Smitty and JJ intended to write a book about DBT and had made a start, but they lost momentum for whatever reason(s) and once lost, momentum is hard to recover. Too bad. From what I saw, they had a lot to say, which is no surprise to anyone who knew of either's contributions in these parts. Glad you were able to reach JJ.

Does anyone know where Smitty’s body was laid to rest or was he cremated?

I am absolutely kicking myself…I’m with my family driving home from the beach and stayed close to Fruithurst last night. I’m hours away now, but I would have visited the cemetery last night. I actually listening to Sturgell Simpson and thought of Smitty and started looking for Fruithurst a few moments ago and am hours away now but was really close last night.