LRM Interview – Smithfield: “If you have a strong work ethic, you give yourself the best chance.”

11 years ago Liv Carter Comments Off on LRM Interview – Smithfield: “If you have a strong work ethic, you give yourself the best chance.”
smithfield duo interview
smithfieldmusic.com

Smithfield is one of Nashville’s most promising new country music acts. The duo, comprised of Jennifer Fiedler and Trey Smith, is just a few months into a first record deal with Bigger Picture Group. It was a good time to catch up with them to talk about what life is like just after signing a deal. We met on a sunny day at Nashville’s Edgehill Cafe, and over some great coffee and food (do try the cinnamon toast next time you’re there!), we discussed the path to their deal, and what they are working on now.

LRM: When did you guys start making music together?
Jennifer: Trey and I grew up together. We reconnected in college. He had reached out to me on Facebook and had the idea of doing a duo. I was coming to Nashville and I wanted to bring him here and try to be a duo. I think the first time we sang together, we both knew we had something special. After our first trip to Nashville, when we met with an agent from William Morris who really believed in us, I think the next morning we woke up and said “this is for real, we can really do this.” That’s when we started taking it seriously.
Trey: The reason I messaged her was because I was looking for something new. I had been in a rock band for about five years, fronting that, but as most bands do we ended up breaking up. [smiles] I did some solo stuff for a while and tried that out. I had seen a few duos popping up and tried to think of who I knew that I could sing with. And then my cousin reminded me of Jennifer and said “you should try singing with her.” The next day I sent her a message and we started singing together. I think we knew you pretty quick. Just because you have two good singers it doesn’t mean you will sound good together, but with Jennifer the quality and the tone of her voice really matches up with mine.

LRM: And what is the musical vision?
Trey: Jennifer grew up with a lot of traditional country. I also love country and one of my favorite artists is Keith Urban. But I also have a connection to rock ‘n roll and alternative rock. I think the vision ended up being a fusion of all those things.
Jennifer: Our vision is to be a big touring country duo, that is the ultimate goal. We love music and we love playing small stages, but the vision is to make it on the big stage.
Trey: I knew we had something special from the very first line we sang, I never felt that kind of assurance about something like this. I immediately knew that if we were ever going to have a shot in the music business it was as a duo.

LRM: How did you end up with Bigger Picture?
Jennifer: It’s kind of a crazy story. [smiles] We often played at Belcourt Taps and ended up getting a last-minute round on a Sunday night. There were maybe three people in the room.

LRM: They have really good fries there… [smiles]
Jennifer: Yes, they do! [laughs] So this one guy in the back, his name is Rock Marcello, had stopped us and followed us out to the car and he said “I love one of the songs you played, it sounds like a Lady Antebellum song. You should send it to my friend Liz Morin, she may be able to help you pitch it.” So we met with Liz and she said “I’ll set you up with co-writes,” and she set us up with six writes. One of those was Susan Ruth.
Trey: We wrote a good song with her and she went “I love you guys and I want to introduce you to my friend David, who is the CEO of Bigger Picture.” The very next day David e-mailed us and said “my friend Susan told me about you guys, I want to hear your music. Would you mind coming in and playing for me and a few of the other people?” We went in a few days later to meet with David Robkin, Keith Stegall, and Alan Kates. We went in with my acoustic guitar and sang a few songs and then listened to a few songs on CD. We thought it went well and were sort of like “cool, they were nice people, if we hear from them, great, and if not we’ll keep plugging.” But the next day David contacted us and said “hey, the meeting went really well yesterday, they really like you guys and we need two things from you. We need to see a live show with a full band and we need some more recordings.” It was really cool for us because we don’t typically get that kind of response. It’s usually “Yeah, you guys are great, keep working.” We got some more recordings done in the studio and did a show a few weeks later at The Basement. They came out and saw the show, and the next morning David e-mailed and said “we would like you guys to come in and talk.” We went in the next day and he said “Hey, this is what we want to offer you guys, we really like you, we believe in what you do.”
Jennifer: That’s how I want to encourage people, that you never know. We played rounds where there were 100 people there and nothing good came out of it. And then we play a round late on a Sunday night where you wouldn’t think anybody would be out. There were three people in the room. I think the stars just aligned for us.

LRM: How has your writing been influenced or changed since being here?
Trey: You know, we haven’t strayed too far from what we started with, we’ve always been true to what we do. We grew up on country music. And I didn’t hear the current music until I was about 12. My parents always played the oldies stations, which was really cool. But I’ve always been interested in commercial music and the way it draws people to it. So that’s what we write.
Jennifer: I think our writing has definitely got better since we’ve been in town. I think we’ve always kind of knew what our sound would be but the lyrics weren’t there yet. I think once we really dug in here and did it so much, we improved. The songs before we moved here were okay, but now they’re great. As far as change, I think we just improved what we started doing. Our sound never changed, it just got better.

LRM: I think if you navigate this town the way you should, it’s hard not to improve. There are people here who write about 10 songs every week and you can throw them a line and they’ve immediately got something great for it. They’re so used to it and their brain is geared toward it.
Jennifer: Yes, absolutely. It’s great.

LRM: Who did you write with who helped you see things differently and improve your writing?
Trey: It’s kind of funny when we first moved here, maybe only a month in, we got a co-write with Connie Harrington and Tim Nichols.

LRM: Oh wow! [laughs] Trey: Yeah, I know… [smiles] We were brand new in town, and pretty new writers, but it definitely helped us to experience what they did and listen to them, and how they sort of just throw stuff out there.
Jennifer: The biggest thing is that they were better than us because they’ve done it for so long. When we wrote before, we wouldn’t really throw stuff out there. It would be more like “oh, what do you think of this?” and be a little timid. Now we are just like “just say everything!”

LRM: Well, it must have been a little intimidating. You walk into a room with Tim Nichols and you go “Oh yeah, that guy wrote ‘Live Like You Were Dying’…”
Jennifer: Yeah, definitely. But I think the experience taught us that we’re going to get there, we just have to keep improving.
Trey: It is intimidating, so initially we didn’t say a whole lot, but it taught us to be less quiet and just throw stuff out there. I think it helped us to get past the initial reservations we had. So we could go “this line might be stupid but this is what it is, if you hate it, just shoot it down, if you don’t maybe we’ll use it.”

LRM: About the record deal, people often have the wrong idea about what happens when you sign one.
Jennifer: Yeah, they think we’re suddenly gonna blow up.
Trey: Life is all glamorous after that! [laughs]

LRM: But that’s when the hard work really starts. How have you experienced that?
Jennifer: People saying it’s easy is one of the hardest things for me to hear. People think it’s easy to get a deal but it was so hard to get to this point. How much harder can it get? But I think if you have a strong work ethic, and I think Trey and I have a good one, you give yourself the best chance. And you then continue what you did to get there, I feel like it’s sort of the same. I don’t really feel any different.
Trey: What a lot of people don’t realize is that there is still a proving ground after you get signed. Some people think that you work hard to get signed and then you can relax.

LRM: No, whatever you did to get you into that deal you need to continue doing. Artists shouldn’t think that when they get signed that suddenly someone else will take care of everything.
Trey: Exactly! I mean, sure, you got signed, so at least you got that far, but you will still have to convince some people in the company. And you try to show them that you will listen, and work hard, and try to make them a lot of money. [smiles] That’s really it.
Jennifer: Yes, that’s why we get excited every time we finish a song. We can’t wait to send it in. We want to show them that we’re working hard. You can’t just show up for your writes and then you’re good. There’s a lot of other factors that go into it, like going to events. It is a very time-consuming thing.
Trey: But like you said, the general perception is that once you get signed you’re in.

LRM: Yeah, and in reality that’s just step one. And now there’s like 100 more steps. [smiles] Jennifer: Exactly…
Trey: And is it a big step? Yes, of course. But it’s by no means the last step. It’s just one of many steps. We are excited and ready to work, but we are also humbled by it. It’s not something that happens every day. We really appreciate it because we know there’s a lot of people out there who are just as good but who don’t get the opportunity. It makes us appreciate this even more.

LRM: How have you felt the support of the Nashville music community?
Jennifer: The people here are so nice! I mean, anywhere you go you will find people who are just in it for themselves but overall the community is really big on helping each other. We go to a lot of friends’ shows and support them, and support their songs. Everybody may be at a different level but we’re all trying to do the same thing. It’s just a matter of whose luck is good and the timing.
Trey: Yes, sometimes it’s just luck and timing. Like we said, there are so many talented people in this town, when you go see them play and you’re banging yourself in the head thinking “why don’t these people have a deal?” But it’s just timing and luck.
Jennifer: I’ve often heard people say that the music business is cut-throat, and it is to some extent. But I think the people we’ve met and are working with are genuinely quality people.
Trey: Yes, that’s another element of our luck, we met the right people. We’re definitely one of the lucky ones.

LRM: So what’s next on the agenda for this year and into next year? Writing? Recording?
Trey: Lots of writing! We’re also going to be getting songs together for an EP and hopefully get a single off that, and then maybe do a radio tour. We need to get things going and maybe get some traction. And then hopefully we can start promoting it and start touring.
Jennifer: Right now, we’re kind of in the development stage, and like we were talking about, people often don’t really know what that means. People back home are all going “you have a record deal, when can we hear you on the radio?” But we are like “give us some time!” [smiles] We try to get songs together but we have a whole year to do that.
Trey: And the most important thing right now is for us to be here in town. We need to be here, and do lots of writing, and then start putting some songs together for the EP when we have the right material.
Jennifer: First impressions are lasting impressions. It will be the first impression people have of us so I want it to be great. If this record works and we get to do a second record, we might not have as much time to put that together. Now we need to make use of this luxury of time to make sure we get it right.

LRM: What different aspects have you enjoyed the most so far?
Jennifer: I love performing! I love meeting people, interacting with people, being on stage. That’s my favorite part. I get a high off it, I can’t explain it.
Trey: It’s funny when we first decided to work together, one of the first things she said was “I am okay with being a duo but I can’t write.” I was like “really?” And she’s actually turned into a really good writer. I feel like we each got better at the things we said we weren’t the best at. She told me she wasn’t good at writing but loved performing, and I told her I loved writing but performing wasn’t my strongest suit. But now I feel like she’s gotten a lot better at writing and I’ve gotten a lot better at performing.
Jennifer: It’s been a really cool thing about us. At first what attracted me is that what I was weak at Trey was strong at, and what Trey was weak at I was strong at. I never would’ve thought 2 1/2 years ago, that I would be able to write like I am now. I had tried it before, but I wasn’t happy with my songs. Of course, I’m a perfectionist, so I’m never happy about anything. [smiles] I really didn’t want to say I was a writer yet with Trey, but once we started digging into it and started co-writing, I learned a lot from that. More than anything, you have to co-write. It was like going to school for me. After a while I thought, “Hey, I can do this, I can write!” I think it’s all about confidence. It’s just like performing, once you have the confidence it’s like a walk in the park.
Trey: I wrote my first song when I was 14, I think. I was playing in this band, if you can call it playing. We had a bad name, we were called Sound Asleep.
Jennifer: [laughs] Trey: Yeah, it’s pretty bad. [smiles] I think the only reason we did it was so we could go to school and tell girls that we were in a band.

LRM: Probably. [laughs] Trey: But I did get the writing bug then and started writing some songs. I didn’t seriously start writing till I was about 18. Then I got with the band I was in for a while and I wrote all the songs for that.

LRM: And was that band called Wide Awake? [smiles] Jennifer: [laughs] Trey: Yeah, that’s right! [laughs] No, luckily not. We just played around Dallas and Texas. And after that I did some solo stuff and got back into country music. The first time we came here we only played covers and we were told we need to get some original songs. We went home for only about a month and I remember sitting down and saying “okay, let’s write a song.” So we wrote about a recent breakup and it’s not the best song we ever did or anything, but it will always be special to me. We brought it here and it got played for some publishers and it showed people that we could write.

LRM:
Jennifer: Mine is just one word. I love it so much that I have a tattoo of it. Faith. In this industry you often hear “you’re not good enough yet, get better, get better.” So my biggest thing is to have faith in myself, and faith in my dream. And I’m a Christian, I’m a believer, so it’s my faith in my God. Those three things are what I live my life by. That’s why I got the tattoo. Because this is a crazy business. I mean, were signed now we can be taken off that six months from now. It’s a reminder to not give up, and to feel blessed that I get to do this.
Trey: I have a couple of things. There’s one thing that Rob Dennis told us. We were in the studio and he told us: “Write the music, network, but never ever forget or discredit how far you can get by just being a good person.” And that really stuck with me when he said that. The other is something my dad told me since I was a little kid. He said “the only thing in life that never changes is that change happens.” It’s really helped me, because moving to Tennessee was not an easy thing. I like my routines, I like things to say the same, so that helped me through that. And the third one, I’m a believer too, I grew up in the church, so I’ll go with scripture. It’s Psalm 9:10. “Those who know your name trust in you, for you, Lord, have never forsaken those who seek you.” That’s always stuck with me and always driven me.

LRM: I think we can end it on this philosophy lesson…
Trey: Yes, this was your moment of Zen for the day. [smiles]

 

For more on Smithfield, please visit smithfieldmusic.com. To not miss any updates, go like their facebook page and follow them on Twitter.

 

Liv Carter

Liv Carter

Liv is a career coach for creatives, and the people who work with them.
She holds several certificates from Berklee College of Music, and a certificate in Positive Psychology from UC Berkeley.
Her main influences are coffee, cats, and Alexander Hamilton.
Liv Carter

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