The History Of Vince Smith AKA MotownVinnie

Just to let you know, I’m not going all the way back to the beginning with this. This is not my memoirs. I just want to give you a brief history of me and how I ended up where I am and doing what I’m doing.

After being a gigging musician for most of my adult life, a friend of mine got me into podcasting back in 2010 or so. I listened to his shows and eventually started one of my own called Rage Radio X. I played rock music, did funny skits and stories and talked about music. Eventually, my show ended up being aired on TapDetroit, a local internet radio station in 2012. The show was pre-recorded like a podcast but broadcast every week on the station.

After a while, I got the bug to do a live show, so I started one during the mid morning called After The Rush. This is the show where I picked up the name MotownVinnie after my name in the station chatroom. I used to be VinnieVegas, but people kept asking me if I was from Vegas even though I’m from Detroit, so I switched it and it stuck.

In 2013, my work schedule changed to days and I was no longer able to do a live show in the mornings. Since there were no openings in the evening for me to do my show, I didn’t do one for a couple of months. Another friend of mine that did radio at the station had left and started his own, so I had a decision to make.

After some soul searching, I decided to go all in with him at Alien X Radio in 2013. I started a new show called “The Invasion With MotownVinnie.” Sound familiar? It was a live show for 2 hours every week and it was set up like a real terrestrial radio show with breaks and everything. Very professional. I broadcasted live from home every week for 2 years and had a loyal following of dedicated listeners.

During this time, Keith continued to do his own show, “Inside The Mothership” during this time, but our intention was always to do a show together because of our great on air chemistry. In 2015, we dropped our individual shows and began a new weekly show. He came up with the idea for the name “Vinnie and the Alien” after his radio name, Alienstone.

For over 2 years, The Vinnie And The Alien “Showgram” was heard on internet stations all over the world every week. In early 2018, I left with the intention of leaving radio, but after a couple of weeks I started to get the itch again, so I created my own radio station, KNOT FM. America’s Rock Station had a lot of listeners and carried some great syndicated programs like Hard Rock Nights with Brian Basher and The Eddie Trunk Podcast. The station has since been discontinued. Despite how well it was doing, I wanted to simplify. That is why I am down to just doing this podcast now known far and wide as The Invasion.

Will I ever do another radio show? The thought crosses my mind. I know that with my connections, I could be on 100 internet stations very quickly… but at the moment, I have no plans to go back to that. Never say never…