Editing Elliott Smith (section)

=== 1994: ''Roman Candle'' ===
{{Listen
| filename = Elliott Smith - Condor Ave (sample).ogg
| title="Condor Ave"
| description = Sample of Elliott Smith's "Condor Ave" from ''[[Roman Candle (album)|Roman Candle]]'' (1994), reported to have been written when he was around 17 years old,<ref name="Shutt page 3" /> showing Smith's early songwriting style and [[lo-fi music|lo-fi]] sound
| format = [[Ogg]]
}}

In the early 1990s, Smith's girlfriend at the time convinced him to send a tape of songs he had recently recorded on a borrowed [[Multitrack recording|four-track]] to [[Cavity Search Records]].<ref name="Under the Radar 1" /> Cavity owner Christopher Cooper asked to release the entire album of songs, which surprised Smith, as he was expecting only a deal for a [[Seven-inch|seven-inch record]].<ref name="Shutt page 6" /> The album became Smith's release ''[[Roman Candle (album)|Roman Candle]]'' (1994).<ref name="Shutt page 6" />

Smith said: "I thought my head would be chopped off immediately when it came out because at the time it was so opposite to the [[grunge]] thing that was popular&nbsp;... The thing is that album was really well received, which was a total shock, and it immediately eclipsed [Heatmiser], unfortunately."<ref name="Under the Radar 1" /> Smith felt his solo songs were not representative of the music Heatmiser was making: "The idea of playing [my music] for people didn't occur to me ... because at the time it was the [[American Northwest|Northwest]]—[[Mudhoney]] and [[Nirvana (band)|Nirvana]]—and going out to play an acoustic show was like crawling out on a limb and begging for it to be sawed off."<ref>{{cite journal |last=Fritch |first=Matthew |date=September 1998 |title=Down on the Upside |journal=Magnet | issue=46 |url=http://www.sweetadeline.net/down.html |access-date=April 17, 2013}}</ref>

One of Smith's first solo performances was in Portland at the now-defunct Umbra Penumbra on September 17, 1994. Only three songs from ''Roman Candle'' were performed, with the majority of the ten-song set being [[A-side and B-side|B-sides]], Heatmiser tunes and unreleased tracks.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.setlist.fm/setlist/elliott-smith/1994/umbra-penumbra-portland-or-73d58661.html|title=Elliott Smith Setlist at Umbra Penumbra, Portland|website=setlist.fm}}</ref> The same year, Smith released a split 7-inch record with Pete Krebs via Slo-Mo Records, contributing the track "[[No Confidence Man]]".<ref>{{cite web |url= https://pitchfork.com/news/65067-elliott-smiths-no-confidence-man-single-reissue-announced-listen/ |title= Elliott Smith's "No Confidence Man" Single Reissue Announced: Listen |website= Pitchfork |first= Evan |last= Minsker |date= April 26, 2016 |access-date= March 2, 2020 }}</ref>