Meet Collin Smith | Music Educator & Song Writer

We had the good fortune of connecting with Collin Smith and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Collin, why did you pursue a creative career?
Since I was a kid, I’ve always wanted to take on music in any form. Playing guitar, drums, wind instruments etc. Basically anything I could get my hands on. Around 12 years old I started picking up my dad’s old acoustic guitar with the highest action imaginable. That was not fun, but I had no reference for what a good guitar played like, and it was my only accessible instrument at the time. From there, it was all YouTube academy.

I didn’t know specifically if I wanted to write music, but I wanted to perform. The kind of dream you have at that age, like be a rock star. I’d imagine myself playing the craziest solos and riffs from my dad’s music, which had a huge influence on me.

Around the same time, I started concert band in middle school, and picked up French horn. Those were fun times, indeed, and it gave me the fundamentals that I needed for ear training, developing a deeper level of intonation and basic theory. I’d go back in forth on both guitar and horn for the next 4-5 years after that.

Right around 16, I dropped out of concert band, and just focused solely on guitar. Around this time, I was deeply influenced by bands like polyphia, Chon, intervals, and Plini. Any instrumental music I could listen to, I would add it to my playlists. I learned all of of the songs I could by ear, and made mistake after mistake just honing in my technique alongside it. That was when I decided I am ready to start a band. And that’s when I started writing music!

To answer this question, I pursued music to perform, and write. And I was obsessed with writing, but had the hardest time completing riffs. I never enrolled in courses, I just kept going. Good old trial and error method. After a few years, I was finally pumping out all sorts of songs. Did they need work? Of course, but it was the process of developing this skill set I appreciated the most.

And getting to perform the songs I’ve written live? I feel a super deep connection to the music, and my bandmates because of that.

Let’s talk shop? Tell us more about your career, what can you share with our community?
My favorite aspects of my art are a few important things. I’ve been able to derive the styles of my aformentioned influences and create something with my fingerprint on it. With that being said, I’ve also switched my style so many times, just depending on what era of “me” I’m feeling.

I’m still a long ways to go (the journey never stops), but I can confidently say I write uniquely in comparison to other artists, and have my own sound. That’s something I’ve sought out for the longest time.

The biggest lesson that I could state, would be staying consistent, and making sure you love what you do in the end. You’ll have moments where you second guess your craft, or where you feel that you’re burnt out, but that’s all normal. I don’t think staying consistent strictly means to “never take breaks”, rather just put in whatever amount of effort you can, and don’t stress about the big picture end goal. Progress can seem invisible to you a majority of the time, so you should take care of yourself first and not worry about if you’ll be successful.

The best part of those breaks? When you come back to your craft, you have a fresh perspective and a rested mind, ready to get back at the grind.

To sum that up, I hope people get to listen to my music, including the hundreds of songs only a handful of my friends have heard, and simply enjoy it. It’s my pride and joy, and it’s always so fun to write, whatever it may be.

Any places to eat or things to do that you can share with our readers? If they have a friend visiting town, what are some spots they could take them to?
I don’t like to go out often, funny enough! If I were to recommend any places, I would say Delucca Pizza. A few buddies went there for my birthday a couple of months ago, and it was incredible. Pizzas you wouldn’t think to make, and just a great vibe.

There’s also a nice spot by Sansom Park, in Lake Worth, TX, where you can hike until you’re tired. The view of the dam with the water flowing over is gorgeous.

I don’t necessarily have any bars of choice I could recommend in my area, but when the occasional friend comes into town, we’ll head to boomerjacks for a bit, and just go for a few drinks. Simple vibe, but with friends it’s a pretty good hang.

Who else deserves some credit and recognition?
That’s a long list! I’d say off the top of my head Ezrie Katzen. He’s an incredible musician and human being. We met around the time I had only played guitar for a year or so. We ended up pushing each other to keep growing and learning as musicians, and each taught each other invaluable aspects of the craft. To see where he’s at now, I’m proud.

All of my band mates in my band Snow Farming as well. Kason, Rocky, Clayton, Willem, they’re all a part of this vision. I may have wrote the music, but now it’s our vision.

Kason Siney is an incredible drummer, who listens to the music, and adapts so well. He is also a sound engineer, producer under his tag (dontpanic), and we have an incredible chemistry and history playing music.

Also, Rocky Nelson! This dude is incredible. The lyrical aspect, the ability to write fitting vocal parts over the craziest stuff I send to him, he’s definitely my favorite vocalist.

Clayton Gaskamp took on bass as this band started a few years back, and he has progressed an insane amount since. Nothing but respect and admiration.

And Willem Stewart, our band’s guitarist, just eats whatever riffs I send his way. He rips.

We’ve pushed each other to learn and play completely different styles of music, and I wouldn’t change a thing. I’m excited for the future!

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/collin_j_smith?igsh=bWlqcTRmMTlpN283

Other: For my band, you can find us on Instagram here!

https://www.instagram.com/snowfarmingband/profilecard/?igsh=MTFjeGxvZHoyM2hveQ==

And you can listen to our music on Spotify at this link: https://open.spotify.com/artist/3dFH5Fne93wXaNFgFTO06o?si=KS3cxKKsQ0an_91_HPS2Hw

Image Credits
Clayton King

https://www.instagram.com/claytonbking?igsh=amFwOXU1ZHk1MjNi

Tamia

https://www.instagram.com/tammerz.jpg?igsh=Z2ZjaDlndGI2eWRh