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Corey Smith blends country, rock at Legends |
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Wednesday, 23 April 2008 |
by NIKKI ROBERTI
Intern Lifestyles Reporter
Country rocker Corey Smith plays Legends tonight and took some time to speak with The Appalachian about life as a musician.
The Appalachian: How did you first get your start as a musician? Was it a slow process or did it seem like it happened over night?
 Corey Smith played Legends Tuesday night. Photo by Derek DeSha
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Corey Smith:
It was a very slow, gradual process. I was a high school teacher for 5
years. When I was in college I decided to make the decision to have a
career as a teacher and have music be a hobby. I would write songs as
my therapy. I got an opportunity to record music in a studio and just
started handing it out to friends and family and pretty soon it got out
all over Georgia. It grew so organically. One thing led to another and
I had much bigger opportunities. I’ve been doing full time for over two
years now.
TA: On your bio online, it said you went to college to be a social studies teacher. Why did you choose that career?
CS:
I have a passion for learning and teaching. I wasn’t a great student in
high school. I had a few teachers who really inspired me. I felt like
teaching was a way to reach out to kids who were like me in high
school. I wanted to make a difference.
TA: Do you still feel like you can make that difference through your music?
CS:
That is the goal. I’m in a place right now where it’s fun going to
towns playing shows, making music, meeting fans and making money; but
unless it turns into something bigger, then there’s nothing really of
value to it. You can use music to make a difference. Like right now I’m
involved with [the] organization ‘Be the Change International’ and
launching a joint campaign. Be the Change International is using music
as promotional tool for college students to raise AIDs awareness
specifically in South Africa. I went to South Africa for two weeks in
December just getting educated about the issue and visiting families
and orphanages. I look forward to having opportunities like that to use
music to inspire others and make a difference.
TA:
What would you say to students who dream of a career as a musician but
are currently pursuing a college degree in the mean time like you did?
CS: To
me, the best music comes from pursuing music for its own sake –just
simply because you love it. I made that transition where stability and
family and security were my priorities, and that’s what my motivation
for college was. It let me create music from a different place. My
advice to anybody in college is to figure out what makes you happy and
what you want most in your life. For me it was family and security.
Should music be anyone’s priority in life? Is music really what’s
important? No. You need to put it in prospective. But you also need to
pick a career that will make you happy. If you’re pursuing something
you don’t like, you probably should pick a different career. If music
is the only thing that will make you happy, then you should pursue a
music degree.
TA: What is your favorite album so far and why?
CS:
I guess my stock answer for that question would be my most recent
album, since I believe the more songs I write the better I get. But
just recently I was going through my past music and the album, “The
Good Life” it captured a really important time in my life. It was
honest and genuine without a lot of fluff. It makes me think about what
it was like when I had my first kid. So as to my favorite, I’d have to
say “The Good Life.”
TA: What have you learned about being a musician since you first started?
CS:
It’s really hard work. A producer friend of mine told me that if it was
easy then everyone would do it. It’s not an easy way out like a lot of
young people think. Its not being the rock star and having everyone do
the work for you as you just travel and perform. There’s a lot more to
it than that. It’s really hard work.
TA: What do you love most about being a musician?
CS: Connections
with people and fans. It’s that same feeling when I was teaching. Just
that feeling that you’ve impacted someone in a positive way is
priceless. It’s what I think about at the end of the day, when I’m
missing my family. I come back to that. The stories I hear or e-mails I
get saying I’ve inspired someone in some way –that’s what makes it
worth it.
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