There is very little that remains static in the creative life of Linda M. Smith, but no part evolves more quickly than the processes by which she creates. This is not to say that she separates herself completely from tried and tested methods (yes, she still uses sheet music) but rather, that her artistic projects try to always spell the birth of something new. For Linda this means that the route taken in creating her music is often a new one each time.

Nowhere in her music is this philosophy more evident than in her writing. "You can find a central message in my work if you look hard enough," she says, "but it wasn't put there by me consciously". Instead, songs in Linda's repetoire tend to develop on their own, as individual artistic pieces.

She can, in fact, be inspired to write by almost anything. "It depends on where I am or what is affecting me at the time. Whether its something in my personal life or something I observe in another. I love people watching and have become quite good at discerning the nature of what is transpiring between them, even if they are complete strangers at a distance. I like to think I see more than other people do."

When she sits down to physically write songs its a combination thing going on. Very rarely does Linda separate the writing of the music and lyrics. Generally, she says, "I sit down with an idea and then work out music and lyric together." For her, the two forms are utterly joined.

Before recording any song Linda likes to perform it live for a long time believing that, "a song has a different life before it is recorded; a more dynamic and fluid life. Once you lay it down a song often stays where its been put. Playing a song live allows for it to evolve to a point where its really great, where its worth recording."

The process really benefits the music. It lets her and the band work things out and really learn how to express the emotion of the song together. "If I don't do this,", she says, "I get too careful and composed in the studio. There is less spontaneity and more formality." She also gets to see what the band responds to in songs and how they would modify things. "After I write my songs they are very personal and seem very complete to me. When I send it out to my bandmates and my fans, however, the song suddenly opens to the possibilities of growing in greater, more universal ways."

As for rehearsals Linda is very disciplined, feeling that a regimented practice schedule gives her the assurance she and her band needs to get up on stage and give their best. Before a performance she warms up vocally and goes through the things she feels less sure of, claiming that, "self-rehersals help me become less conscience of performing the music and let me just be the music. I really push the band to get to this unconscience state as well."