"Behind The Mic" With Cameron Smith of Smooth Jazz TV
October 1, 2004 - Cameron Smith laughs about the early days of his now successful TV program Smooth Jazz Television, "Back then I was hiring weekend news shooters who happened to have gear in the trunks of their cars and God bless them because they were the guys who helped me create the show." Seven years and a lot of sweat later he has one of the most popular vehicles for promoting Smooth Jazz on the planet. Smith who's originally from Edmonton, Alberta, Canada has an infectious love for the artists who created the format, "Their contribution is a substantial commitment to the American Musical culture, people don't understand it but it's substantial." Cameron Smith is our "Behind the Mic" feature Broadcaster for October. Read our Interview.

John Beaudin - Hi Cameron, well it's nice to talk to you again. I think we should point out to the readers on the website that I interviewed you last week for an hour and a half and wouldn't you know the tape in the machine was faulty and the whole thing was lost but here you are back to give us another go.

Cameron Smith - It's all good John. Listen John, I've been there I can totally relate.

John - Well thanks. You're a real sport. Do you ever wonder on how this show has progressed so far after seven seasons? In the beginning you were coaxing local TV cameramen to use the equipment they had in the back of their cars to do some shooting for you.

Cameron - (laughing) Well, you know when I first started the show I was spending a hundred dollars a week. Back then I was hiring weekend news shooters who happened to have gear in the trunks of their cars and God bless them because they were the guys who helped me create the show. We used to chase down artists in the middle of the night like Al Jarreau for instance to make themselves available to us and sometimes straight out of the shower in a couple of occasions. It's been magical at seven seasons. It's been an odyssey.

John - So Smooth Jazz Television is in most of the major U.S. markets now, right?

Cameron - We're in 23 major markets in the United States and we're on Cool TV in Canada as you know John and in addition to that we're on 20 airlines globally. We have the largest broadcast in-flight footprint and we would follow Seinfeld or Frasier in -flight. We're on more airlines globally than any commercially produced television product than anybody else in the world.

John - Hey do you ever look at the early shows? Can you?

Cameron - (laughing) Oh listen as a matter of fact we've talked about creating a flashback show just for fun but those first few episodes were God awful but you have to start somewhere. The artists were always very supportive but it's comical you know when you think back to any first run you know you'll find some juicy vintage archives. (laughing) That's what I'll say John. (laughing)

John - Obviously it says a lot about your dedication and the slickness of the program but it also says a lot about Smooth Jazz of course. People want to see these artists.

Cameron - Absolutely.

John - Is it challenging the fact that a lot of artists don't have videos?

Cameron - Well, we found out early that unless we created our own content there really wasn't an initiative on the label side to support these artists because financially it wasn't fiscally sound. It didn't make sense for them to do anything in that area. So for us we found out really early that unless we were going to produce it ourselves and really implement a sense a quality then we wouldn't have a show. So, after the first season we started creating our own content and it served us very well.

John - You also feature some great live footage of artists as well.

Cameron - Of course we travel the global festivals all over the world and we create concert performance footage that would be on par with anything you'd see on NBC, ABC or CBS because frankly we're in prime time in a market like Los Angeles we're on NBC on Sundays at 3 o'clock. Our competitors would be CMT and VH1 and BET so we have to compete on a network level so our commitment to the quality of the program is paramount.

John - Come on, I think this is all happening because you're the "New Fashion Icon of Dallas." (laughing) ("D" magazine in Dallas gave him the title)

Cameron - (laughing) You know it's funny because when they printed that I was the "New Fashion Icon of Dallas" I told my publicist "Oh Shit!" If I'm the new Fashion Icon of Dallas then Dallas has a lot of problems. (laughing) I was flattered though I must say.

John - You have been in TV for a long time starting back in your hometown and one of my favorite cities Edmonton working not too far away from the SCTV gang.

Cameron - Yeah, I was in TV in 1974 when Second City launched at ITV in Edmonton with John Candy, Joe Flaherty and Martin Short hadn't arrived yet. I was across the hall doing my show called "Disco Daze" and so those guys would trip over to see my show and of course I would see them in the hallway all the time.

John - Was there hair back then? My wife says you have a good looking noggin.

Cameron - (laughing) I had a pony tail and a pierced ear I was cool.

John - You were in the movie "The Riff" with Nia Peeples. How did you get the part?

Cameron - Well, I was a script consultant for the movie and then Bernie Pollock, Sidney's brother called me and asked me to come and read for the film which I did and it was funny because the character was kind of loosely based on a lot of my experiences. The Director and writer was a friend of mine so I came to L.A. and ended up reading for the film and I read with Nia Peeples and Paula Abdul and Tony Fargas and I got the part. The day I got the gig Michelle Pfeiffer and Sidney Pollock were shooting "What Lies Beneath" not too far away so when I got the film I was floored and Nia was fabulous.

John - You did a nude scene with her.

Cameron - I did but I had a stunt butt double though. (laughing)

John - Hey man, I don't need to see that! (laughing)

Cameron - (laughing)

John - Have there been some artists that you just clicked with immediately?

Cameron - Well listen, Dave Koz has been a great friend and mentor to me. Al Jarreau has been the same and there have been guys like Richard Elliot, Peter White and Rick Braun who have always been supportive of what I've been doing when it was not fashionable to do so. Those are the kinds of guys that I remember. Jeff Lorber has been a person that I also really, really connected with both personally and professionally. He's an incredible musician and an incredible person. That's what's so cool about this music is the people in the music are in it for the right reasons. If they wanted to make money in larger terms they'd be doing rap.

John - I hear you. Back in Edmonton when you were doing "Disco Daze" did you have any quality time with the SCTV people?

Cameron - You know what they had no idea of what they were creating and accomplishing at the time and I was 15 but there were some moments that I shared. The commissary was shared by the two shows so I had a couple of cups of coffee with John Candy when I was fifteen years old. The guy was incredible we had some really fun exchanges and it's something I'll never forget.

John - Tell me what other shows your company "Center Stage Television" is doing?

Cameron - Sure, we create in-flight programming for Delta Airlines. We have a show called "Departures" which we shoot on film, it's a travelogue. We also have a show that we've created for United Airlines called "Connections." We have a new Latin Rock show called "La Onda," it's in Spanish and it's like MTV Espanol and then we have a couple of developmental pieces that we're working on right now so that's what we do.

John - For Smooth Jazz TV are you taking unsolicited tapes from musicians?

Cameron - Of course, I probably get twenty projects a week and I listen to all of them because I think that it's important.

John - What haven't you done yet that you'd really like to get at?

Cameron - Well, I want to complete a full syndication of Smooth Jazz Television in the States. All that we have left is the north east and the Atlanta Miami markets and we're in virtually every other market so I'd like to complete that and I'd like to develop some shows that are representative of the quality of these artists that are more retrospective . Smooth Jazz is twenty years old now and some of these guys have been around for a long time. So I'd like to start creating some documentary style shows.

John - Like a "Biography" type show on George Benson or Larry Carlton?

Cameron - Yeah to try to start getting into who these artists really are as people and really what they've contributed is a substantial commitment to the American Musical culture people don't understand it but it's substantial.

John - When I talk to the younger players they always mention people like Jeff Lorber, George Benson, Lee Ritenour, Grover Washington Jr. Larry Carlton, Bob James and David Sanborn.

Cameron - Well, that's true and I think when that really came home to me was when Grover (Washington Jr.) passed and I thought here's a guy who really launched a whole musical style and he's gone! So whenever I spend time with the artists on camera I really try to get more than just their standard record promotion from them, I want to understand who they are as people so we can share that with the audience and have it documented. You know the last time I interviewed Joe Sample it was the first time he'd been interviewed for network television in almost ten years.

John - What? Are you kidding?

Cameron - I'm not kidding and he told me some amazing stories about his heart attack and playing as an opening act with The Crusaders for the Rolling Stones. We just had a conversation on camera that is priceless so these are the kinds of programs I want to develop and create some programming around. I think the stories are more than credible, I think they're riveting.

John - Are most of the Smooth Jazz artists ok with TV?

Cameron - You know what they're cool and I have to do my homework and we talk before the interview and they relax and they know that I'm not just some guy spending time with them to create a program that doesn't mean anything to them professionally. I always want to pay them the respect that they're do because that's so critical. I think if you're not prepared to invest some time then don't waste theirs, you know.

John - You had a chance to work with Wolfman Jack, what was that like?

Cameron - Wolfman Jack and I did Saturday nights together in Dallas and it was like all moons aligned and I have to tell you that I learned more from Wolfman Jack in a year than I did in my other fifteen years in the radio business and I'd never been on the air! I was always on the sales and management side of things and he just insisted that I be in the room whenever he was on the air. He was eccentric that's for sure. So I became part of the show and I became a personality and that's what launched my confidence to become a television personality.

John - Is there any more acting in your future?

Cameron - You know I'd love to do more acting but I have to be realistic. Sure I'm in control of my own destiny owning my own television production company, writing and hosting the show and owning my assets but as an actor I'm at everybody else's mercy. I would love to do more but maybe when I get older but not right now.

John - Cameron thanks for pushing the music, thanks for doing it with knowledge, heart and some pretty damn good style.

Cameron - Well John, thanks for everything you do for us. It's great to spend some time with a fellow Canadian and I'm really gratified that you took the time to speak with me so thanks for all your support. I'm a long way from Edmonton but I'm still Canadian. Much love to you bro.