Grant Maloy Smith - The Full (and Fun) Interview
This is the first interview I’ve done with Grant Maloy Smith, who was both a featured performer and emcee at the Indie Collaborative Holiday Celebration this Wednesday night, Dec. 3 at the Bruno Walter Auditorium, Lincoln Center. With songwriter Eileen Bluestone Sherman, Grant co-organized the event and the full Indie Collaborative group of 2000 plus musical members. (I’m a member and I do publicity for some of their New York City events, including this one.) Visit our website at www.indiecollaborative.com.
I love his work ethic and how he finds ways to entertain people where ever he goes, including on his social media!
Enjoy the interview, and let me know what you think.
Enjoy Grant Maloy Smith! I do!
A) The Parallels of Grant Maloy Smith
1) I heard similarities in your voice and vibe with Bill Monroe AND timbre-wise Robin Gibb. Do you? What do you hear and what do you think of these artists?
Bill Monroe was one of my major musical influences. My Kentucky Grammy (my mother’s mother) gave me several LPs from him and his group, the Blue Grass Boys, when I was young. I listened to that high lonesome Bluegrass sound over and over again until it became part of me. Robin Gibb was not a major influence on me, though I enjoyed the Bee Gees’ songwriting. Their early hits like “I Started a Joke” were extremely well-written. Both Bill Monroe and Robin Gibb had very high voices - higher than mine - but I certainly recognize the similarities.
2) I understand you had a rock band—Brittania--what was that? I can’t find any music online. Where did you play? How did you promote?
That was in the 1980s, long before the internet. We had some songs on actual LPs, which are no longer in print. We traveled around New England doing our own shows and also opening for acts like Steppenwolf, Elvin Bishop, Jack Bruce and Friends, The Guess Who, and more. It was a great learning experience that helped me begin developing my stagecraft.
3) You, Jesse Welles, and Billy Strings have gone from hard rock to Americana. Bon Jovi even recorded an Americana album some time ago. Did you have a competing or collaborative history, or been on the circuit with any of those guys?
I met Billy Strings after seeing him in Nashville, and he was very generous with his time. He’s an incredible player, much like Trey Hensley, who has played on many of my recordings. Those two take turns winning IBMA “Guitar Player of the Year” awards. I’ve never met Jon Bon Jovi, but I was honored to have his fiddle player, Lorenze Ponce, play on my DUST BOWL: AMERICAN STORIES album, which was on the Billboard charts for 11 weeks. I’ve heard of Jesse Welles, but I never crossed paths with him. All three of those artists are outstanding.
4)Who’d be surprised to see that you’re working steadily and in interesting ways?
The people who remember me jumping around in Spandex with an electric guitar back in my Rock days are surprised to hear me writing and singing Roots music. These genres seem like different worlds. But regardless of the genre, all music comes from the same place. It has the power to heal hearts and connect people like nothing else on earth. That’s why I avoid doing overtly political stuff - It’s so divisive these days. I want to connect hearts.
5) Martial arts and Music—How does it help you as an artist and human? Do you still teach? What’s humbling you now?
I got my black belt in May 2001. I had been assistant-teaching for several years at that point. When I achieved my first degree, I was given my own class, which I taught for 15 years. During that time, I went up to sandan, which is a third-degree black belt. I finally had to stop teaching in 2016 because I was traveling so much. It wasn’t fair to the students to be gone half the time.
Martial arts are a mental and physical discipline that can be helpful across all aspects of your life. It certainly helped me remain calm in the face of adversity and be more confident about tackling difficult things. I am always humbled when I hear a great work of music or an outstanding performance. Music is never-ending - just when you think you’re starting to get good, you see someone else who is fantastic. They asked a very old Segovia why he still practiced the guitar for hours each day, and he said something like, “Well, I feel like I am finally starting to get good.” He had the right attitude - never stop trying to get better.
Magical collaboration - Grant and Kevin Lucas “Wade in the Water.” Visit YouTube for more!
B) Careers
1) What “secrets” have you learned about building a career all these years?
It’s easy to make a million dollars in the music business: just start with ten million dollars, and before long, you’ll have one million.
That’s a joke, of course, but it stings like the truth. I don’t think that I know any secrets about the music business. Hard work and perseverance aren’t really secrets, but they are essential. I also believe strongly that you need to follow your own muse, and not get sidetracked by musical “fads” or the desire to win a contest, no matter how big it is.
2) I’m impressed with the number of skills you have. Song research –like the roots of this music, plus music supervision, performing, producing, and emcee-ing. Does wearing so many hats help you, and how?
Unless you are a major artist on a big label, you don’t have a team of people around you to help you. Most of us are a “one-man” or “one-woman” band. We have to do basically everything for ourselves, with a few exceptions. For example, most indie artists are their own booking agents. I was a graphical artist before I switched to music, so I create my own album and single artwork. Having multiple disciplines is more of a necessity than a choice.
3) Emcee-ing – being in front of an audience, were you the kid in all the school plays in Junior and Senior High School? Or the bands or both? What was your first gig, emceeing or in front of an audience? If you knew then what you know now, how would it have been even better?
I was in plays in elementary and junior high school. I recall an elementary school Christmas musical, singing “I Am Jolly Santa Claus” and other songs in front of the whole school. I even did community theater when I was about 10, acting in the Lookinghouse Theater in Rhode Island. I remember playing the lead in “Jonathan and the Dragon” way back when. However, by the time high school rolled around, I focused on sports and my artwork and didn’t act again until just a few years ago, when I acted in independent films. The best-known of them is called “Oildale,” and it’s available on Amazon Prime and elsewhere. I played a character like me, a guitarist on stage at the Fox Theater in Bakersfield, California. I wrote the song that I play in the movie. I never did emcee work until Eileen Sherman and I started the Indie Collaborative in 2015, when I became the de facto host of our shows and showcases. I really enjoy doing that!
4) Biggest collaborations—of the level that you have with Indie Collaborative and Kevin Lucas. Anything else stand out? What does it take to collaborate with you? Would you consider writing music for the lyrics to a country dance song I’m working on?
I have collaborated with a variety of people over the years, usually co-writing with other songwriters like Betsy Walter, Mike Greenly, and others. For the last few years, I have been collaborating a lot with marimba master Kevin Lucas, as you mentioned. I think we have a unique musical chemistry, and we have no plans to stop! We’ve already done four or five songs and videos together, and more are under development. Eventually, we will have an entire album. I have also produced songs and an entire album for Jeff Hyman of Gaslight Singers fame.
I am also for hire on the website soundbetter.com, where people from all around the world hire me to play or sing on their songs, or to produce whole tracks or albums for them. I am working on several tracks for them right now. I also recently collaborated with Stephen Melillo on a Country song, “In God We Trust.” I would definitely consider writing for you!
5) Were the films you worked on part of a conglomeration of musicians from Rhode Island or Florida? Were these gigs from friends of friends or something like that?
My most recent film, “Oildale,” came about in Hollywood. I played a show out there at Kulak’s Woodshed, and the writer and director of that movie happened to be there. They heard me perform “I Come From America,” a song about the “Okies” and other folks from the Great Plains who came out to California’s Central Valley looking for agricultural work during the Dust Bowl. They approached me after the show and asked if they could use the song in the movie, and if I wanted to play a small role. I said “yes” immediately, and about a year later, I was on stage shooting that music scene and another, in which I had a short dialogue with another character. Coincidentally, the movie’s musical director, Rick Davis, had been a keyboard player for Buck Owens back in the day. One of his sons is the singer for the metal group KORN, and they bought Buck’s old studio in Bakersfield. I had the chance to visit the studio, which still has a bunch of gear that Buck recorded on. I used to watch him, Roy Clark, and others on the TV show “Hee Haw.” That’s how far back I go!
6) Themes of albums. You like to research? Any tips? Anything you want to note about your process?
My process involves extensive web searches on the topic, finding books and movies about it, and then devouring them and letting all of that grist swirl around inside me for a while. Lately, I have been using ChatGPT to help with the research. It’s a good tool because it can find threads connecting different topics much faster than I could. You have to be careful with it because sometimes it makes stuff up. But like any tool, if you use it wisely, it can be a huge help.
Penny Ballads. Visit www.grant-maloy-smith.com/albums/pennyballads
C) “Penny Ballads”
1) Some songs seem to be about ISOLATION: “She Walked” and “I See You” – the bullied girl in me relates to these. How do you know about this stuff?
“She Walked” came straight from my imagination, but “I See You” came directly from a real experience. I was having dinner at a Texas Mall food court, and there was a table of 80-90-year-olds next to me talking about what it felt like to be their age. I wasn’t eavesdropping, but it was impossible not to hear them. One of them said that when she walked down the street, the younger people looked right through her as if she wasn’t even there. That one hit me hard, and I knew that I had to write about it. The song on Penny Ballads that I find the most gut-wrenching is “Cuts Away.” It’s about two ugly ducklings who have terrible, sad lives until the very end of the song, when they find and rescue each other. I have had people, especially women, cry out when I do that song live, “That’s me! That’s my life!” It’s so powerful and poignant when a song reaches people so strongly.
2) I’m enjoying the orchestration—Is arranging one of your talents—where’s that from and was there a lesson that had an impact on how you approach the whole auditory picture and vibe of recording?
I’ve always enjoyed arranging. I think I got a lot better at it during the years I was doing soundtracks for indie movies. I studied orchestration not in a school, but by listening carefully to great works. Songs can be done a million ways - finding the arrangement that suits my vibe and my voice is something that I have learned to do over a very long period of time.
3)“Always a Way” is a power ballad. Are you a sucker for perfect pop like this one? Influence?
Power ballads from artists like Aerosmith and Elton John were a huge part of my listening in high school. There is no doubt that this had a huge impact on my musical lexicon.
Grant is also a graphic artist. Here’s a downloadable flyer that you can share for Wednesday’s celebration.
D) December 3
What are you looking forward to at the Indie Collaborative? What will you be doing, and tell us about your song? Can we find it online?
Besides emceeing, I will play two Christmas songs. Both of them are from my 2022 album, “The Christmas Heart.” I will do my own Jazzy version of “Silent Night,” as well as an original called “On This Day.” That song is dedicated to people who are going through hard times during the holidays. The fact that most other people are so joyful makes their pain a little worse. The song’s message is that no matter what, Jesus loves you and has your back. Vivian Fang will also be performing in the show and will bring the Children’s Choir that she teaches to perform. They have agreed to sing oohs and aahs during “On This Day,” which is a real thrill for me. I can’t wait!
You can find the album “The Christmas Heart: Roots Music For The Holidays” on Apple Music, Spotify, and many other places. I also offer signed CDs on my website. www.grant-maloy-smith.com
What were your goals when you and Eileen started this group? Is there something special you found out about yourself that you weren’t looking for?
Eileen and I just wanted the group to be a vehicle for indie artists to connect. Just looking at New York City, there are thousands of musicians, but very few know each other. We put “Collaborative” in our name right from the start, because that’s what we’re all about. After 10 years, we’ve got thousands of members worldwide, representing virtually every musical genre. Most importantly, our group and events have been the spark that launched countless musical collaborations that would never have happened without us. If you are an indie musician or someone in the industry, like photographers, producers, etc., please join us today. There is no cost to join the Indie Collaborative. Eileen and I don’t make any money from the IC - it’s a labor of love. Please join us today at www.indiecollaborative.com/join
I found that I really enjoy being the emcee of our events. I’ve known my whole life that I was a “hambone” who enjoyed being the center of attention. Most, but not all, musicians are like that, so I come by it honestly.
I’ve always said that Indie Collaborative showcases are incredible: imagine going to an open mic where every performer is a multiple award winner, including Grammys. Introducing them and hearing them weave their magic is satisfying, humbling, and just plain fun.
Our productions, like the one coming on December 3 at Lincoln Center, give us the chance to put together a show around a theme, which is a rich experience for everyone. Each type of show has its place. Please come and see us on December 3! You won’t regret it.