Chris Smith (writer)
Chris Smith (born 1968) is an award-winning author, journalist, satirist, and photojournalist, currently residing in in Vancouver, British Columbia. Smith publishes much of his magazine work under the name Chris Cannon, and hosts a satirical radio program under the name Rusty Shackleford. Smith is represented by the film and literary departments at Paradigm Talent Agency. He is currently penning a memoir and several feature-length films.
Music Criticism
Since 1995, Smith has been writing AbOUT popular music for venues including Performing Songwriter, Billboard, Rolling Stone, Time Out New York, Texas Music, and the Village Voice. He has authored more than 100 magazine features and three books on music, including 101 Albums That Changed Popular Music, The Greenwood Encyclopedia of Rock History: From the Arenas to the Underground, and The Greenwood Encyclopedia of Rock History: The Rise of Album Rock.
From 1997 to 2000, Smith served as music editor for Performing Songwriter magazine, penning cover features on artists such as Willie Nelson, Tori Amos, and Paddy Maloney. During this period he also freelanced as a reporter and concert photographer for Rolling Stone, and wrote for many New York publications. He also worked briefly in programming at MTV.
Journalism
After starting his career as a music critic, Smith expanded into general cultural reporting, including film, literature, politics, travel, and the environment. His work has appeared in venues such as Mens Journal, Swerve, CNN, the Journal of Visual Anthropology, the Sydney Morning Herald, and the University of Chicago Magazine, where he spent two years as associate editor. He currently writes a weekly music column for the Vancouver Sun, serves as contributing editor for Vancouver Magazine, and is an editorial consultant for the popular cultural division of Greenwood Press, where he is series editor for a line of music biographies. Since 2006, Smith has been writing his non-music related material under the pseudonym Chris Cannon, a reclaimed family name.
Radio
In March, 2008, Smith was elected "Rant King of Vancouver" under the pseudonym "Rusty Shackleford," and began a weekly radio segment on the Bro Jake Show on CFMI, Rock 101.1. From March 2008 until December 2008, the program consisted of a two-minute live rant on topics ranging from politics to people who put hats on dogs. In January, 2009, the format was changed to a satirical news show titled "The Friday Weekly Update Report Review of News", with co-host Martin Strong.
Film
From 1997 to 1999, Smith worked for Francis Ford Coppola, selecting scripts for his magazine Zoetrope: All-Story, and overseeing the magazine's first two annual fiction contests. In 1999, Smith served as an advisor on the film Two Ninas, directed by his friend Neil Turitz, with whom he had worked at Wenner Media. In 2008, Smith began writing and directing mockumentary shorts.
Personal life
Smith was educated as an anthropologist at Columbia University and the University of Chicago, where he studied subcultures, transient culture, and metaphor theory. He is currently an adjunct professor at the University of British Columbia, where he teaches courses in nonfiction and cultural criticism and lectures on satire. Smith is also an avid ultimate frisbee player, playing in national championships in three countries, as well as two world championships.
Awards and Honors
Gold and silver medals for staff writing and finalist for feature writing at the University of Chicago Magazine in 2002, awarded by the Chronicle of Higher Education.
British Columbia Arts Council fellow, 2008 and 2009.
Literary Journalism fellow at BANFF Centre for the Arts, 2007.
Tyee Fellowship for Solutions-Oriented Reporting, 2008.
Nominated for three National Magazine Awards and a finalist for two Western Magazine Awards in 2007 and 2008.
Bibliography
- "The Nature of David Suzuki", Vancouver Magazine, 2007 1
- "Snow Business," Vancouver Magazine, 2009 2
- "King of Croon," Vancouver Magazine, 2008 3
- "Shark Tale," Vancouver Magazine, 2006 4
- 101 Albums That Changed Popular Music, 2009
- The Greenwood Encyclopedia of Rock History: From the Arenas to the Underground, 2005
- The Greenwood Encyclopedia of Rock History: The Rise of Album Rock, 2005
- Inside New York, 2000