In 2007, Jorden Michael Smith was in a tragic car accident that changed his life for the better.
At the time, Jorden was living in Santa Barbara, California. As a result of the high cost of living, Jorden was working three jobs, a Luther at a local guitar shop, a music instructor at the local Santa Barbara Academy of Rock & Roll, and a musical instrument maker at Alien Guitars. Plus he was playing with his band Greycase. Jorden seemed to live a great life, but when it came to drugs and alcohol, it became hard for him to fight his demons.
After playing a show in a small town called Isla Vista, Jorden confronted those demons. It was 2:30 a.m. on the night of November 3, 2007, Jorden had decided to drive his girlfriend’s car seeing as she was much too intoxicated. Jorden decided before they left that he would take a couple more shots which was the worst decision of his life, yet it was also a blessing. Jorden began driving home just fine, or so he thought, he had reached the stage of severe intoxication. Jorden pulled over on the side of the California 101 highway. His girlfriend got out of the car and did everything she could to gain Jorden’s attention. Their luck ran out when an illegal immigrant who not only had one but four DUIs, ran into their car. It kicked Jorden 35 feet out of the car, headfirst into the guard rail, all while he was wearing his seatbelt. When this happened, the tides and the fog were rolling in and it was nothing but whiteout conditions. It took responders about 15 minutes to find Jorden. At 5 a.m., Jorden’s mother received the worst phone call of her life, that he might not make it through the night. His parents booked an immediate flight, and within the next couple of hours, were in Santa Barbara. Jorden survived through the night but was in a coma that lasted for two weeks. When Jorden awoke, he had right-side paralysis.
One of the first things that he had was a guitar, and with the help of his friend, he gently played a few chords. The doctor’s prognosis was very unfortunate, and his parents, who because of the prognosis, thought Jorden would never play guitar again. The doctors were very wrong.
Jorden has found one of the best sources for rehabilitation is music. Jorden has played the guitar since age 3 and has played in many places, including B.B. Kings on Beale Street. Jorden will never let anything get between him and his music. In 2013, Jorden began a nonprofit organization for children and young adults with disabilities, to help them learn to play music called “A Positive Note.”
