I shouldn’t be surprised anymore when I’m onto an artist or band that I think is new and great, and it turns out that they have a Lou Smith video. There’s always a Lou Smith video. Last week when I saw the Punchbag video he posted, I decided to learn more.

He’s a professional photographer and videographer and he has done some great work on music videos, but the concert videos that make up the bulk of his YouTube channel are a labour of love. Here’s a great profile of him in something called Hard of Hearing magazine:

To this day, Lou only films bands he likes. “I don’t just film one random band and then leave it at that. If I’m not into them, I won’t film at all. I don’t want to get involved when people ask me to film or offer to pay me and stuff like that. If I’m into them, I want to film them and watch them grow, so people can watch the progression.”

He’s also mentioned in this NME piece about the rise of DIY videos in helping artists reach new audiences:

Smith’s inbox is full of new bands seeking his seal of approval – though he’s determined to staying in touch with word-of-mouth buzz among new music fans. “It’s that element of finding bands in the right place at the right time, when they get signed I see my job as done,” he adds.

Here’s a profile and interview with Lou that goes deeper than either of those ones, from the dormant blog Please Kill Me:

A cult favorite Instagram account recently paid homage to Lou with a meme in which a woman pleads with her boyfriend to have sex with her, and he ignores her, eyes fixed on his computer, saying: “Lou Smith just uploaded a new set from the Windmill…” But Lou is decidedly uninterested in fame. He holds unfolding potential above corporate dollar power–who’s got the most followers and the highest chart rankings, doesn’t concern him in the slightest. A devoted dad of four, he’s also become somewhat of a father figure to the subjects he photographs, nurturing their talent and potential by giving them a priceless publicity boost via his photography.

Here are some the artists I’ve either found through his videos, or been looking for more about only to discover he’s already shot them, sometimes more than once:

Lip Filler, Been Stellar, Duvet, Viji, Lambrini Girls, Mary in the Junkyard, Plutoz Beach, and The Chats. That’s just from memory, I’m sure there are more.

And there will be still more. Lou’s videos are an instant click for me when they show up in my RSS feed.

It’s easy and fun to get lost in his YouTube library, you’re almost guaranteed to find a new band that you like.

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