Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Peyton Smith. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.
Alright, Peyton thanks for taking the time to share your stories and insights with us today. It’s always helpful to hear about times when someone’s had to take a risk – how did they think through the decision, why did they take the risk, and what ended up happening. We’d love to hear about a risk you’ve taken.
I always wanted to be in a band. Having only experience playing in my high school’s “modern music ensemble” class I spent a lot of time jealously watching friends play in bands all through high school. I made it a mission of mine to start a band when I would eventually go to college in Fort Worth, TX at Texas Christian University. To my surprise it was a lot harder to do than i expected. The extent of the playing that I experienced there would equate to a loose jam, and that is mostly due to the fact that they never involved a drummer. I was still motivated, but was unsure if I was in the right place.
Walking home from my philosophy of music class I found a pair of drum sticks on a parking block in the parking lot of my dorm. I took them, and went to my room. I turned on the TV, and began to watch Anthony Bourdain’s show ‘No Reservations’ episode on Nashville. As I began to listen and learn about Nashville, I started looking up colleges in Nashville. I stumbled upon Belmont University. After spending a few minutes on their website I saw they offered some very interesting courses related to the Music Business. A lightbulb went off as I realized there were probably a plethora of musicians in Nashville. It was as if I had never even given a thought about this city, and all of a sudden it seemed to be calling my name.
I applied to transfer and booked a flight to tour the school. I didn’t think twice, and I listened to my gut. I made the move, and have lived in Nashville for 5 years now. I front a band named, Say Kids. I play music with three of the best friends I have ever had. I have found though the community within Nashville a place and people that represent the best of many generations. I have had riveting conversations with a multitude of thinkers, and danced to some of the best music in some of the most unfinished basements in America. I’m not always one to second guess, but I have to admit it felt risky at the time to change the course of my college education. Moving away from family, and going to a town where my face would be no different from a tourist’s. I came to find this was the best decision I ever made.
Awesome – so before we get into the rest of our questions, can you briefly introduce yourself to our readers.
Baseball had been my whole life growing up, and so when I was about to head to college I decided I wanted to spend more time focusing on music. I knew that I wanted to be in a band. Being in a band wreaked of cool in my mind, so that was it! When I moved to Nashville, I had zero chops and a handful of songs. I was a clever writer, and friendly drinker. I quickly became friends with William Cheatham who I initially met while he was eating an apple in a parking garage stairwell. It is this kind of randomness that led William and I to meet Matt Gay and Oliver Finch. We got word of two musicians moving to Nashville that were looking for people to play with, and we made plans to jam when they got to town. As soon as we met it was as if everyone knew that it felt right. We continuously jammed in their four car garage with no AC, until we eventually upgraded to unfinished basements. We quickly found ourself in the house party scene, and became comrades with many of the other up and coming local acts.
We earned our stripes on stages across town. Eventually we recorded and released several songs and an EP concluding my senior year of college. Then…the world stopped.
When Covid hit the future seemed uncertain. We were going to record more music to tour, but all of it seemed to be on hold with the world.
I found myself missing things I never thought I would ever miss. I missed baseball of all things. I found a community of sandlot baseball players who many of which happened to be musicians. It was in this community that I felt restored in my passion to do things I love.
There was nothing stopping us from recording the music we loved to play, so we recorded 12 songs in may of 2020. The sweat of that album is still unwashed in my wool baseball hat.
After over a year of working on the 12 songs we have started individually releasing the songs.
I have taken much pride in this work it has taken to keep the pulse of the band alive and well. It is hard to make believers when you don’t believe much yourself. I wanted to care as much about the music we made as I did the merch we had. I stopped thinking of things as secondary, and began understanding the smallest things can be a priority sometimes.
I began making one of one items for our fans. Finding a nice shirt, and then putting a clever patch on it seemed to really take well with our fans. People like to feel special because they truly are. We wanted to provide something that would be unique to them, as opposed to offering something for the masses. It is in this care to detail that made every stitch and design we have done meaningful to me. This is one reason of why I am proud of what this band represents, and what the music offers to the listeners.
For you, what’s the most rewarding aspect of being a creative?
Self expression is something that everyone struggles with. Society puts its molds out there, and you find on that fits you. I never felt like I felt any particular molding. If anything, I felt like I was a little bit of everything. I dress different day to day depending on the environment I will be in. This is no coincidence. I listen to different music based on who I am with. This too is troubling.
When I sit dow to write a song, however, I am never consciously thinking of anything. This is not to say I enter every write complete blind. It is very much a cathartic experience of grasping sound and word out of the air to create something that ultimately is meaningful to you. I don’t always know the full meaning what I am creating until I have created it. Even then, sometimes it changes meaning over time. That is the coolest and most rewarding thing to me.
It all starts with nothing, but eventually turns into something profound. It is beautiful how this kind of writing is often rooted in the trivial experience of unfolding what we seem to want hide from ourself. Thus, I have to break down what I wrote to understand what it means to me. Profound as this may seem I find myself schooling myself on me, and that forces me to grow.
I strive to also grow on stage with the music. Being this is where the work is performed I find it very important to stay connected. This is the place it is easiest for the artist to dissociate from their art that they wish to connect on some plain with someone else. I am proud of the fact that I have a live stage persona that I express through makeup and garb. This helps me feel connected with the music, the audience, and therefore the experience itself.
Are there any books, videos or other content that you feel have meaningfully impacted your thinking?
A good blanket book that covers a lot would be
The Journal of Aesthetics and Art Criticism
Excerpts of Interest:
Jeanette Bicknell , P.D. “Just a Song? Exploring the Aesthetics of Popular Song Performance”
Wesley Cray Manuscript on “Transparent and Opaque Performance Personas”
Cristyn Magnus, P.D. “Judging Covers”
Michael Rings, P.D. “Doing It Their Way: Rock Covers, Genre, and Appreciation”
Lastly, Franklin Bruno Had a great piece in there called “A Case for Song: Against and (Exclusively) Recording-Centered Ontology of Rock
Contact Info:
- Website: https://saykidsofficial.com/
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/saykidsofficial/
- Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/peyton-smith-b2a7b7144/
- Other: https://open.spotify.com/artist/7C3P5olJNVp1lMkqTJpe2J?si=BP_NAoVRSCihvdtebre42g
Image Credits
Riley Johnson Noah Tidmore Nordista Freeze Alex Boerner