Jive Aces’ Ken Smith Plays Second
Fiddle to None—Bass Fiddle that is
Scientology helped double bass player Ken Smith turn his theme song from “You’re Driving me Crazy” to “What a Wonderful World.” His video is one of 200 “Meet a Scientologist” videos available on the Scientology website at www.scientology.org.
Imagine waking up each day knowing you will be doing exactly what you love to do. Then imagine this seven days a week for 21 years.
That’s how Ken Smith feels about his job, playing bass fiddle for the Jive Aces, the UK’s No. 1 jive and swing band.
“Our ‘work’ is making people happy,” says Smith, one of the founding members of the group. “What could be better than that?”
A fan of rock-and-roll as far back as he can remember, Smith, 48, danced his way to first place in the London Swing Dance Championship three years running, from 1983 to 1986.
He teamed up with lead singer and trumpet player Ian Clarkson, drummer Peter Howell and saxophonist John Fordham in a band called the Aces of Rhythm in 1985.
In 1989, he and Clarkson formed the Jive Aces, where Smith’s energetic antics are one of the group’s hallmarks—audiences go wild when he twirls his bass on its end pin, throws it above his head and climbs on board while playing.
Smith says Clarkson heard about Scientology first, and they walked into the Church together in 1990.
“I was having so much girlfriend trouble at the time, it was ruining my life, but one of my first Scientology courses handled that problem completely,” says Smith, now happily married to wife, Svetlana, also a Scientologist.
“I learned why people act the way they do,” he says. “That makes it so much easier to understand and deal with situations in life. Scientology really turned my life around. I went from miserable to happy, almost overnight. And it doesn’t hurt to be working in a terrific band where everyone gets along so well.”
Smith is particularly proud of the work the band does to help fans discover the truth about drugs.
“We recently performed our 1,000th ‘Say No To Drugs, Say Yes To Life’ concert,” he says. “There’s nothing better than doing something effective to make the world a better place—especially when you’re having a great time with your closest friends while doing it.”
The popular “Meet a Scientologist” profiles on the Church of Scientology International Video Channel at Scientology.org now total 200 broadcast-quality documentary videos featuring Scientologists from diverse locations and walks of life. The personal stories are told by Scientologists who are educators, teenagers, skydivers, a golf instructor, a hip-hop dancer, IT manager, stunt pilot, mothers, fathers, dentists, photographers, actors, musicians, fashion designers, engineers, students, business owners and more.
A digital pioneer and leader in the online religious community, in April 2008 the Church of Scientology became the first major religion to launch its own official YouTube Video Channel, which has now been viewed by millions of visitors.