S3 Ep9: Steve Holmes (American Football)

My Favourite Elliott Smith Song

This episode is released on a special day - what would have been Elliott Smith’s 51st birthday.

We’ve been saving this interview to put out today because our guest Steve Holmes, who plays in the band American Football, has quite a strong personal connection to the song he picked. He talks us through one of Elliott’s rare and unreleased tracks because he was actually there at one of the very few times it was ever played live.

For those that don't know, American Football are a band that formed in Illinois, USA, in the late '90s. Since then, they have released three studio albums, one coming in 1999, then a further two after a 15 year hiatus.

Steve is a huge Elliott Smith fan and saw him play live a few times, including when he was his favourite song pick being played. So, it was great to get the chance to speak to him and chat through one of the hidden gems in Elliott’s back catalogue.
Following Steve's interview we have a listener pick from Leni in Buenos Aires, Argentina.
Extra things to look at/listen to:

• Unlucky Charm by Elliott Smith (1997) on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6f0hLC8pkBU
• Unlucky Charm by Elliott Smith (2002) on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6f0hLC8pkBU
• Unlucky Charm on Reddit: https://www.reddit.com/r/elliottsmith/comments/4qwvdk/what_are_all_the_known_recordings_of_unlucky/

My Favourite Elliott Smith Song is produced by Rob Comba and Elizabeth Withstandley.
Find us on social media @myfavesmithsong.

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