‘You’ll never see me in a cowboy hat,’ says Langley’s Dallas Smith
If you’re waiting for Dallas Smith — erstwhile Default frontman turned fast-rising idol of Canadian country — to begin pandering to Nashville stereotypes, well, you’re wasting your time.
“People can smell things that are contrived a mile away,” the 36-yearold Langley, B.C., native said this week in a telephone interview. “That’s why you’ll never see me in a cowboy hat. It’s just not me. It’s not who I am. People can smell that.
“I’m glad I didn’t try to pretend I’m something I’m not.”
The authentic approach has certainly seemed to work thus far for Smith, who’s now carried eight different tunes to the Top 10 of Canada’s country singles chart.
This week, he released his polished sophomore effort Lifted, a concise compilation of rollicking good-time country where the guitars are heavy and the lyrical themes are always light. The release comes 13 years after Smith’s first act, when he led sludgy postgrungers Default to platinum sales on both sides of the border with the hit single Wasting My Time.
As he prepares for a Canadian tour in January and a performance at Sunday’s Grey Cup in Vancouver, Smith talked about leaving songwriting to others and missing his infant daughter on the road.
Q: Your vocals really stand out on Lifted, especially compared them to your work with Default. What’s changed in your singing?
A: I’ve learned that it’s OK to fail. I’m trying new things. If you listen back to it, it sounds ridiculous what I’m doing sometimes, but I try to find my voice and emote differently. With the Default stuff, I was so afraid of making mistakes as a singer — so I was technically good, but all those neat mistakes and the cracks and the pops and the things you don’t mean to do, those are the great moments in a vocal take.
Q: All the songs on Lifted were written by others. Why did you go that route, rather than putting your own songs in the spotlight?
A: I’m a ‘best song wins’ kind of guy. At the end of the day, I want to release records that don’t have filler in them — songs aren’t on there based on ego or pride.
Q: What’s the story behind Lady Antebellum recording Slow Rollin’ after you sang it on your Tippin’ Point EP?
A: I guess Lady A heard the song after it was cut and liked it enough to cut it themselves. When I heard they were going to cut the song, I didn’t know what to think about it at first. It felt a little awkward. You know, “If they release it in Canada as a single — it was a Top 10 hit for me, so what happens to (mine)?” It was just weird.
Q: You have a baby at home (a 10-month-old daughter). You’re touring in the winter, promoting your record, is that difficult at all?
A: I got a great teammate at home. She’s fantastic. When I leave, as far as emotional support or helping out around the house, (my wife) is a single mom. She’s a champ. I’ve got a son who will be 10 in May. I’ve built a really great relationship with my son. With my daughter ... There’s nothing like holding your baby at that age. Nothing else compares to that.