Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Wayne Smith. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.

Wayne, looking forward to hearing all of your stories today. What’s been the most meaningful project you’ve worked on?

My new recording is the most meaningful to me to date. I think this is because I had not intended on making a full record. I had just started recording songs that I was writing with a friend who was just learning how to use and operate his new recording equipment. I ended up being pleasantly surprised with the results, and after I played the music for some friends, I got some really positive feedback from what I thought was just demos.
These demos quickly turned into songs, and I added some more layers and instruments and it just progressed from there. I also challenged myself by playing almost all the instruments myself. Also, in order to give them a more live and organic sound, like the records I love from the past, I decided to do the layering of instruments with minimal corrections. So, instruments would be played once through: first, I would play the guitar, and then I would add the bass, and then the piano. If you take, wasn’t good, I would do the whole take again, and try to resist too many punches and overdub corrections.

https://www.grainofficial.com/merch

Wayne, before we move on to more of these sorts of questions, can you take some time to bring our readers up to speed on you and what you do?

I started playing the guitar in second grade and I have pretty much been playing ever since. I have learned to play many other instruments through the years, such as piano, mandolin, bass, steel guitar, ect….
I think what sets me apart is that I have played in so many different musical settings; I have played gospel music, jazz, R&B, and funk. I have traveled the country playing in a Prince tribute band. I have gone up and down the East Coast playing in indie and Americana bands.
I’m probably most proud that I have always approached every gig the same, in putting a lot of effort and emotion, and detail into my playing.

For you, what’s the most rewarding aspect of being a creative?

I think one of the things I find most rewarding about being a musician, is what many other see is being frustrating, and that is that it is endless. There is always more to learn. The amount of styles and techniques and approaches are so vast. I am always more that I want to study and improve on.

Is there mission driving your creative journey?

The goal is just try to be the best you can be in this lifetime. Also, I think it is important to just create just for the sake of being creative. It’s also important to not worry so much on who is listening or how many.
I have played shows in front of 15,000 people but some of my most memorable and the ones that I got the most enjoyment out of have been in a small club in a basement with less than 20 in attendance or a living room jam with the right musicians can be very rewarding.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.grainofficial.com/
• Facebook: wayne.smith.5836711
• Youtube: https://youtube.com/playlist?list=OLAK5uy_llaESI1RXFSOaHBbcl3hzbfhZszzyR5MM&si=Wvn4v4nDmvtJMM0E

Image Credits

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