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About Laura Smith...

I was born and raised in Hawaii, starting life on Kauai and moving to Oah’u when I was 4 years old.  I remember feeling so lucky, even as a child, to live in such a beautiful place.

The flip side (and there usually is one) was that I didn’t fit in very well, into the existing culture.  I found refuge in music, starting with church choir in the 3^rd grade.  By the time I was in High School I was finding great enjoyment in quietly singing the alto part in the middle of the soprano section, relishing in the that wonderful ecstasy only harmony can bring.  I’ve been singing harmony ever since!

My Dad was a fantastic musician, mostly playing classical and Ragtime pieces on piano for relaxation.  I was so proud of him, and I’d drag the neighborhood kids in to hear him.  They weren’t as impressed as I was.  He also played the 4 string tenor banjo and would take it out periodically.  I was getting into Hawaiian music and folk music, and Dad got me my first guitar when I was 15.  We would try to play together, but I didn’t know any fancy chords and he didn’t know any simple ones!

Since being a haole in Hawaii is not always easy, the balance of my life shifted to the Mainland in 1973 after attending the Sweet’s Mill Music Festival and Camp in California.  I met Larry Hanks at Sweet’s Mill and he gave me my first banjo lessons. I moved to Portland, Oregon, where I had gone to college (Lewis and Clark), and Larry soon moved up there with me.  We sang together as a duo for 12 years, and eventually moved to Washington State.

In 1976 I went to the Puget Sound Guitar Workshop (PSGW) for the first time.  I have gone there every summer since then except for one and taught classes in banjo, guitar, song repertoire, and hula, as well as being a student.

From 1989 until 1995 I sang in a wonderful duo with Barry Brower.  For me it was a time of reconnecting with some of my favorite music as we dove into traditional old time duets.

I met Steve Palazzo, of Santa Cruz, California, at PSGW in the summer of 2000, and we quickly found that our voices had a rare and beautiful blend.  Despite the fact of our living 1,000 miles away from each other we decided to make a CD!  The result is Like Strangers, released in 2006.  It is a collection of 12 old time country duets and 5 tunes of various kinds, and we are really happy with it!

I am very lucky to live in a beautiful part of the world, in Bellingham, Washington, which is somewhat reminiscent of Hawaii (except for the temperature!).  My husband, Linn, and I live here with Elly, our Black Lab.