We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Greg Smith a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.

Greg, looking forward to hearing all of your stories today. We’d love to hear about the things you feel your parents did right and how those things have impacted your career and life.

My dad was a guitar player/singer who used to perform with his dad in his younger days. I guess he had a great understanding of the desire to play music. I used to sit with him in our kitchen (it had doors you could close) and listen to him play. His dad used to send tapes of him playing music and my dad would send tapes back of him playing. When I got older and got a nice reel to reel recorder where I could do “sound on sound” mixes I took one of my grandfather’s recordings and mixed in my dad playing along and commenting to his dad. My grandfather loved it. So I grew up around music and always loved it. I got a toy drumkit when I was 5 and played it until a friend of my parents’ son broke the cardboard “tom” heads. I was drumless for a few years until my 11th birthday. My parents would ask us kids to make a list of what we wanted for our birthdays and I had seen a snare drum and cymbal in the window of a small music shop, so that ended up on my wish list.
Come my 11th birthday my sister and I were relegated to the kitchen to do the dishes. Then when we got the “all clear” I came out and saw my brand new complete gold sparkle Ludwig Classic drumkit! I still have and play that kit today, although I re -wrapped it back in 2007. I am so grateful my parents got a quality kit! The snare drum is still my number 1 choice for gigging & recording.

As always, we appreciate you sharing your insights and we’ve got a few more questions for you, but before we get to all of that can you take a minute to introduce yourself and give our readers some of your back background and context?

My name is Greg Smith (that’s the short version). I became interested in drums at a very early age, probably spurred on by receiving a toy drum kit when I was 5. My dad played guitar and sang and used to perform with his dad, who played fiddle, so I guess music was always around our house. That toy kit didn’t last very long as the son of a friend of the family pretty much beat the cardboard-headed toms to death. Fast-forward to 1964 and the Beatles on Ed Sullivan and my desire to play was re-kindled. I asked for a snare drum and cymbal that I saw in a small music store window for my 11th birthday. My parents surprised me with a full 4 piece, gold sparkle Ludwig drum set! (which I still have) I set about teaching myself to play, playing along with records and the radio, I also took band & orchestra starting in the 6th grade. I played in multiple bands through school, but always wanted to be a part of creating music, not just copying other bands. I joined my first original band when I was 20. At some point along the way I decided I didn’t want playing music to be just a job because I thought it might become a chore rather than a joy, so I sought out original projects as opposed to cover bands. I have been in many cover bands over the decades but always looked for good original acts. I joined a Johnny Cash/Patsy Cline tribute in 2007 which did very well. After 3 years of that however I decided I had grown tired of the music and wanted something new. I was relocating from Sacramento, CA to San Diego, CA and figured at my age I could only hope for a cover/tribute situation. I joined a Journey Tribute but after 2 years the original bug struck again so I joined an originals act, which spawned another originals act. Fast forward to 2016 and I am involved in 2 original bands. At 69 years old I still tour internationally with one of the bands, record and stay busy. It won’t support me, but I love what I am playing and after 50+ years of gigging I have stayed pretty true to my desires. Music hasn’t made me rich, but I have lived a wonderful life and met some amazing people I never would have had the pleasure to know otherwise.

Is there something you think non-creatives will struggle to understand about your journey as a creative? Maybe you can provide some insight – you never know who might benefit from the enlightenment.

Some folks may not be able to grasp the love of creating music for the sake of the music, and not as a means to financial enrichment. Earning money is a necessity in life to survive, but to play music as a job in my opinion can take the heart out of it. There is nothing wrong with earning a living playing music, but that can’t be the main focus of it. Music becomes a part of your soul, If you make it be your income source, you will most likely need to compromise in some form or fashion. Always keep a window open for creativity or it can grow stale or just tedious.

In your view, what can society to do to best support artists, creatives and a thriving creative ecosystem?

Somehow we need to disconnect the corporate “ownership” from music. In a majority of cases the track record of corporate controlled music is pretty abysmal. Product and sales. No room for creativity because “this one did well so we need 100 more like it!” Around 95% of current “hits” are written by two people. Total control but zero creativity. Back in the 60s bands were allowed more freedom because although some of the corporate leadership didn’t even understand what was being created they left it up to the creators. Online music presence is growing for lesser-known acts, but it would be great if the “powers that be” would be willing to take more chances on unknown creators. I see so many younger players coming up learning music from the sixties and seventies. It is very encouraging, as it shows that they aren’t happy with what corporate is selling them.

Contact Info:

• Website: fallingdoves.com
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC_tA8oLl7DtXo_Fs_OdB47w