Smoking Window Lights Up the North Manchester Music Scene

When a couple of MC students get together and decide to get something started, there’s just no telling just what could happen and how far they’ll go.

For example, Zach Glenn and Ryan Deeter started off as roomies, hanging out and having fun while engaged in the unending business of being a student. Fast-forward a few years, and they’ve formed Smoking Window, the hottest thing to happen to the Manchester music scene in years.



Smoking Window has gifted audiences with their “fusion folk funk” at such venues as Kenapocamocha Coffee House, The Brewhouse, The Time Out Inn and last year’s MC Peace Week (where they performed as the Deeter-Glenn Connection). They also played a benefit show for the new MC radio station in Wampler, as well as benefits for the Firehouse at the local high school and at The Main View.

The core of their shows is their original songs. They approach song writing as a collaborative effort, more often than not composing their own individual parts (Glenn plays lead guitar and Deeter plays rhythm guitar and vocals) while remaining flexible and receptive to each other’s feedback. “When we write a song, I’m always asking Zach ‘How does this make you feel?’” Deeter said. ‘“What emotion is being moved into being?’ We make sure when we’re writing a piece that there’s coherence between us and the song.”



The first song that they wrote together, “Another Pot of Coffee,” is a beautiful song of hope that is grounded in their shared experiences through their time in college. “We try to make our music real to our lives,” said Deeter. “Most of the music we’ve written has communicated some aspect of our experience or views.” This sincerity shines through in their other originals, illustrating how seriously the two musicians are when they express that their biggest influence is life itself.

Their sets are complemented by some covers of rock hits, referred to by Glenn and Deeter as “crowd pleasers.” “A lot of our covers are 90’s rock because there are a lot of people who know those songs, and we want to be able to reach a lot of people right off the bat,” Glenn said. “But there is an interesting balance between becoming a crowd pleaser and playing what you want to play.”

Even when they are playing a cover tune, they put a lot of themselves into the performance. “On a lot of the covers I improv the entire time, and I don’t play them the same way twice,” said Glenn. “I really like that. It keeps us open and honest, and it keeps playing interesting.”



Deeter agrees, and said that this is the root of the difference between playing live and playing while recording in a studio. “We are much more ‘live’ music people than recording people—we like the aliveness of our songs, the way they’re different every time,” he said. “When recording, you play more cautiously than you do when you play live, because you want it to be ‘right.’”

And when it comes to music, it’s not about right or wrong, it’s about how well the music is able to reach the listeners. “We are fascinated by how one is affected emotionally through music,” Deeter said. “This doesn’t mean the music has to be complex and complicated, but it does mean the music has to capture a feeling, a moment, or a deep honesty.”



In fact, this is the root of their affinity with music and song-writing. “What I love about music is its ability to help people from different backgrounds connect,” Glenn said. “This happens for both the listeners and the musicians. During our show at the Time Out [on November 14th], I looked out and saw all these people really enjoying the music, and yet I couldn’t see all of them hanging out together at one time anywhere else. Everyone in the world is connected to music somehow, which means we’re all connected to each other through this medium.”



Anyone who has been to one of their shows will look forward to their next one. So, when you see them around on campus, ask them when and where they’re playing next, and make it a plan to go.

Several of their songs can be heard on their Myspace profile; just search for “Smoking Window,” send them a friend request and sit back to enjoy the tunes.



(This article appeared in the November 21, 2008 issue of The Oak Leaves)