Corey Smith to showcase new songs at Blind Pig appearance
Corey Smith has taken the long view approach to his career.
“I wouldn’t say there was some grand master plan,” said Smith, a native Georgian, who started performing in college and abandoned a teaching career to follow his music. “But I have always set small, realistic goals that were maybe just slightly out of my reach and my career is the natural result of doing that.”
And it’s paid off, allowing the singer-songwriter to slowly and steadily build a fan base that stretches from his sweet spot in his native South to both coasts and, finally, into Michigan.
Smith performs January 26 at the Blind Pig, just his second trip to Ann Arbor and his third foray into the mitten state.
"I enjoy it because it reminds me of what it was like when I was getting started down here in the South,” Smith said during a recent phone call from his home in Jefferson, Georgia. “I like going into new towns and doing the work to bring new fans aboard.
“The crowd may be not as big or impressive, but there’s an enthusiasm that you don’t get in front of crowds who are maybe more used to what we do.”
Smith arrives in Ann Arbor in support of his newest record, “Keeping up with the Joneses,” his third, which he released himself and finds him taking a more personal, introspective approach to songwriting.
Listen to Corey Smith's “Keeping up with the Joneses” album:
Indeed, the singer whose earlier signature tunes like “I’d Do It All Again,” and “21” attracted the hard-partying college set, is now a married father of 2 kids, with a mortgage and other “grown-up” concerns.
“I write being aware of my audience, but I write for myself and when you do it that way, certain time periods bring out certain things that you experience in your own life,” he said. “I’m a serious person. I feel like I’ve grown as an artist that I’m more metaphorical than literal in my songwriting.
Corey Smith performing "Maybe Next Year" this fall in Colorado:
Smith admits that this new, more serious approach has cost him a few longtime fans along the way. On the other hand, he said, he’s more than made up for those defectors in new listeners, who appreciate the honesty of his approach.
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“I’d love to think that all fans understood, but not all of them are,” he said. “A minority want me to keep doing what I have, while others listen differently and they expect change.” What hasn’t changed is Smith’s earnest, honest and energetic approach to his live show. He and his two piece band — drummer Marcus Petruska and bassist Rob Henson — deliver a searing, 2-hour set that they’ve honed to a razor’s edge thanks to a grueling, 250-gigs-a-year touring schedule.
“I try to deliver to the fans the same thing I get from my gigs,” he said. “I may be homesick or feeling blues, but the show is when I don’t think about my troubles.
“I lose myself in the music and I hope that’s what they get, too —a chance to sing along and let their troubles fade to the background.”
Will Stewart is a free-lance writer for AnnArbor.com.