The White Buffalo (musician)
The White Buffalo is the stage name of American musician and singer-songwriter Jake Smith, a baritone from Oregon influenced by folk musicians like Bob Dylan and Leonard Cohen. Smith's songs, from an array of at least ten extended play and studio albums appearing since 2002, have provided songs for a variety of popular American media, including the television series "Sons of Anarchy", "Californication", "The Punisher", "Longmire", "This Is Us", as well as the surfing movie, "Shelter" (2001). Style and influences. Smith is a baritone, and is known for a wide range in pitch within  his singing, and for incorporating whistling into his music, i.e., in place of the harmonica often used in roots music, as well as for his references to God and war in his lyrics. His singing style has been compared to that of late singer-songwriter Richie Havens. Smith grew up listening to country music and punk rock. He has said that the most significant influences on his songwriting are folk singers such as Bob Dylan and Leonard Cohen. Career. The White Buffalo's first full-length album, "Hogtied Like a Rodeo", debuted in 2002. This was followed by "The White  Buffalo EP", produced by Eels' Koool G Murder, which Smith states is about "relationships, love, loss and booze with a little murder mixed in." This EP was musically grounded in acoustic folk and country blues. He re-recorded the first album in a friend's living room in 2008, renaming it "Hogtied Revisited", in it blend of elements of the folk, modern rock, and alternative country genres. In 2010, a second EP, again musically grounded in folk, "Prepare for Black and Blue", was recorded in six days with producer Jimmy Messer, and released through Chad Stokes' Ruffshod imprint via Nettwerk  Records. The music and the artist captured the attention of Unison Music's Bruce Witkin and Ryan Dorn, who then signed The White Buffalo and co-produced "Once Upon a Time in the West". an album that transitioned to a more roots rock sound, with some songs still retaining a folk style. In 2013, a fourth LP, a mix of folk and some blues rock, "Shadows, Greys, and Evil Ways", was released on Unison Music Group to positive reviews. NY1 stated, "Not since Neil Young's "Living with War" has there been so strong an artistic statement about this country 's occupations." The musically varied album, "Love and the Death of Damnation", was released in 2015. In it, several songs being grounded in roots rock, while the song "Chico" incorporated Latin music, "Last Call To Heaven" fused folk, blues and jazz, and "Come On Love, Come On In" was a soul song. In August 2017 Smith released two tracks from his then-upcoming album "Darkest Darks, Lightest Lights", the singles "Avalon" and "The Observatory". the latter a blend of soft-rock and country-folk, the former, which tells the story of a wayward man's search for peace, being described  by "Billboard" as an "expansive country-tinged rock song." "Darkest Darks, Lightest Lights", a blend of alternative rock, blues, country and folk, was released in October 2017 to positive reviews, and was Smith's most electrified rock album yet. In popular media. After a bootleg tape of Smith's music made it into the hands of professional surfer Chris Malloy, one of his songs, "Wrong," was featured in Malloy's surf movie, "Shelter". This eventually led to further film scoring and composing work, with many of his songs featured in FX's hit show "Sons of Anarchy", Showtime's "Californication , as well as commercials for Wal-Mart. Several Jake Smith songs have been featured in the crime drama, Sons of Anarchy", the long-running television series from FX. Most notably, in 2014, he and The Forest Rangers performed the Season 7 finale song, "Come Join The Murder", written by the show's creator Kurt Sutter. Other songs appearing on "Sons of Anarchy" include "Matador", "Damned", "Wish It Was True", "House of The Rising Sun" (with The Forest Rangers), "The Whistler", "Set My Body Free", "Sweet Hereafter", "Oh Darling, what have I done" and "Bohemian Rhapsody" (with The Forest Rangers). The  House of the Rising Sun, performed with The Forest Rangers, was featured in the fourth season of "Sons of Anarchy". The White Buffalo's Digital EP, "Lost And Found", featuring "Wish It Was True", was used in the third season of "Sons of Anarchy". The song “The Observatory” from "Darkest Darks, Lightest Lights" (2017) was featured in "This Is Us" episode “The 5th Wheel”. Smith's song "Where Dirt and Water Collide" was featured in the Netflix series "Longmire", in the seventh episode of season six. His song “Wish It Was True” was also featured in the Netflix original series  Marvel's "The Punisher", in episode three, "Kandahar", of the first season. Touring. Over the past few years White Buffalo has played shows both nationally and internationally with acts like Ryan Bingham, Donavan Frankenreiter, Gomez, Xavier Rudd, State Radio, Jack Johnson, Ziggy Marley, and Grace Potter and the Nocturnals, among many others. Section::::"Capturing The White Buffalo" docuseries. In June 2015, Ernie Ball introduced a ten part docuseries entitled "Ernie Ball presents Capturing The White Buffalo: The Recording of an American Songwriter", which followed Jake as he recorded his album, "Love and the Death of Damnation". The series sought to show  the audience Jake's process "from inspiration, to writing, fine-tuning, recording, and mixing, to rehearsing and performing live", so they could "experience the trials and tribulations of a modern day troubadour". Initially releasing the teaser trailer on May 18, 2015. The first episode premiered June 19, 2015 with each subsequent episode scheduled to release once per week each Friday leading up to the album's release on August 21, 2015. Notable appearances. The White Buffalo performed at the 2011 Bonnaroo Festival and performed on The Living Room Sessions in December 2011. In August 2014, The White Buffalo performed the  songs "This Year" and "The Whistler" on "Jimmy Kimmel". Awards and recognition. The White Buffalo was named as one of twelve artists to watch in NPR's 2012 Winter Music Preview. His Digital extended play, "Lost And Found", featuring "Wish It Was True", was named Billboard Folk Chart "Hot Shot Debut".