Tuc Smith & The Restless Hearts release new live video
Tuk Smith & The Restless Hearts have delivered a special festive gift for fans, sharing a brand new live video for fan favourite track Take The Long Way, filmed on September 29th on their recent debut visit to Japan, which included 2 shows in Tokyo.
Frontman Tuk Smith comments, "This was the first time I’d ever played in Japan and it was such a great welcome - I felt like the fans over there immediately really seemed to get what I’m doing. Arigato! This was filmed at Club Quattro in Tokyo.”
When the original track, included on latest album “Rogue To Redemption”, was first shared, Tuk explained its origins, saying "I go through these manic-type episodes for a few weeks at a time and at the end of it all I usually come out exhausted and dragging 3 or 4 new songs behind me. Take The Long Way was one of those songs, conceived while I was in an elevated state and it basically wrote itself in real time. To be visited by 'the Muse' is something truly magical. This song is about as personal as it gets. Though in today's culture of 'fill-in-the-blank' style lyric-writing, I think the more personal the better. Finding inspiration from dusting yourself off? I think that’s something everyone can relate to."
You can check out the video now below:
Tuk Smith is the kind of rock’n’roll ambassador you didn’t think existed anymore. Punk maverick from rural Georgia, Biters frontman, producer and solo artist, he’s seen the best and worst of a music industry in constant flux. By turns it’s left him critically acclaimed, poised for stadiums, dropped, burned out, back in the game and beloved by those for whom rock is still everything. Now based in Nashville, and with his own label Gypsy Rose Records, he creates from a more real place than most.
“I want to do something that means something to people,” Tuk says, “because a lot of shit nowadays is so disposable and so plastic. I just don't connect with that. I'd like to do things that impact people positively. It's a weird time on the planet, so to have songs about hope, but not be cheesy about it, it’s something I think we need with songwriting. That's the kind of music I want to hear.”
The result is latest record “Rogue To Redemption”, produced by Tuk and mixed by Chris Dugan (Green Day, Iggy Pop, U2). The sonic lovechild of Thin Lizzy, 90s power pop and melody-driven punk, it shows an artistic peak born from adversity. The sound of a man bottling a lifetime of experiences, stories and characters from working class America. Lyrically, inspired by storytellers like Tom Petty, Phil Lynott and Bruce Springsteen, “Rogue To Redemption” comprises a Born to Run-esque series of vignettes – observation sprinkled with Tuk’s own experience.
“I was dropped from a label, nobody would sign me” recalls Tuk, who wrote the album in solitude, mostly at a piano. “No booking agent would touch me. I had to figure out how to make my own records. I've always worked with other mentors, writers and producers, so for me to make this myself was a big leap of faith, because… you know, you might screw it up!”
“Rogue To Redemption” is available now on CD, vinyl (including two limited colour variants - silver or purple), digitally, and as part of a number of merch bundles. You can order a digital copy HERE, or a physical copy HERE.
If charisma and talent were all it took to be a star, Tuk Smith would have cemented himself among the world’s most notorious and beloved songwriters a long while ago. But in a business filled with loaded dice and bloated suits, Tuk remains a rock ‘n’ roll outcast. Paradoxically, he continues to strive for that coveted spot of musical immortality that, in today’s modern world of algorithms and social media trends, remains reserved for those with the money to buy their way in or for those who are willing to lose themselves. Tuk has been and remains: neither of the above.
Tuk’s signature sound - for any and all blessed enough to have heard it - has found a place in the upper echelon of contemporary rock n roll. For those who have yet to become familiar, it’s a bare-knuckled blend of AC/DC swagger, Cheap Trick melodicism and Thin Lizzy guitar wizardry. The man behind the sound is an absolute force.
Never willing to settle, never ready to stop, Tuk will release his much anticipated second studio album in August 2024. Listeners can expect more hooks that stay with them for days and choruses they can sing along to the first listen through. Tuk continues to forge his own path and it's a journey we should all be proud to accompany him on.
