Dallas Smith makes transition from rock to country

NASHVILLE — When you’re talking with an artist whose latest song is poised to make a run up the country music charts, you automatically expect a Southern drawl, and in modern country it’s as likely as not to be a familiar Georgia twang.

But if it’s Dallas Smith on the other end of the line, prepare to be taken aback. The former Default lead singer and Canadian native, who made the transition from harder-edged rock to country just over a year ago, wears his roots well.

“I’m just being myself, trying to introduce this Canadian guy to the people who love country music,” Smith said in an exclusive interview with The Albany Herald days before he releases his latest EP, “Lifted.” “I have to be careful with the lyrical content of my songs. I don’t want to come off as trying to sound like I’m from Georgia. For better or worse, I have to stay true to me.”

Smith, a native of British Columbia, was introduced to the classic rock that influenced his work with Default by his father, while his mother filled their house with the sounds of 1990s country music.

“There was Garth Brooks, Alan Jackson, and Brooks & Dunn, and a lot of female country, too,” Smith said. “Mom was into Reba, k.d. lang, Kathy Mattea and The Judds, and that all had an impact on me.”

Smith was also a fan of such guitar-driven country acts as Keith Urban and Rascal Flatts, and he gravitated toward the vocals and storytelling of country and the crunch of rock. He took all of those disparate parts and created his own sound.

“Country radio today sounds like the perfect storm of what I grew up with,” he said. “This really is the best of both worlds for me.”

Helping Smith bridge those worlds is producer Joey Moi, who has overseen blockbuster albums by Florida Georgia Line and Jake Owen. Their first work together produced Smith’s Canadian country debut, “Jumped Right In,” a project that netted the singer three Canadian Country Music Association award nominations in 2013.

Now fully entrenched in the Nashville community — he made his American country debut with the high-energy single “Tippin’ Point” — Smith has released the shout-along road-trip anthem “Wastin’ Gas.” It is the first single from “Lifted” and won the singer a legion of new fans during his opening spot on Florida Georgia Line’s “Here’s to the Good Times Tour.”

Smith took time from his hectic schedule Thursday to talk with The Herald about his burgeoning country career.

ALBANY HERALD: Congratulations on your recent success. This is an exciting time for you. A long way from “Default, hmm?

DALLAS SMITH: Yeah, this is an exciting new chapter of my life. We did our last stuff with Default in 2009, and I made the transition to country around 2012.

AH: It’s interesting, a Canadian dude mixing it up with all these Georgia boys and others with Southern roots who are tearing up the country charts right now. Is there a different point of reference — different influences — in the music you record, whether you write it or not?

DS: I don’t know, I guess this is the kind of thing that can only happen in music. But I have to be careful with the lyrical content of my songs. I don’t want to come off as trying to sound like I’m from Georgia. For better or worse, I have to stay true to me. I’m not ever going to try to be what I’m not. I have that rock edge in my music, and I’ll allow it to come out.

AH: Yeah, it’s hard to imagine the guy who sung and wrote “Wasting My Time” — which is an exceptional song, by the way — making that transition to country. Is the genre more accepting now than it would have been in the days of “classic” country music?

DS: Yeah, I think that’s true. And it’s not just rock music that you’re hearing in country now. There’s a lot of pop stuff, too. I think that comes down to fans whose tastes are not restricted to any particular type of music. I think it’s more a thing of people listening to the best songs. In our house, you might hear Lionel Ritchie, U2, The Judds, Garth Brooks, Alan Jackson, the Beatles … The influences came from everywhere, and I can’t help but wonder if that’s not what’s made country more accepting of other music.

AH: In doing this, I usually try to form a point of reference when I listen to new music. I hear a lot of Eric Church in your EP … (“Bad-ass,” Smith says under his breath.) … and that’s a compliment. Are there country artists who’ve influenced you?

DS: I always go to school on the guys who emote in their singing, the Lee Brices, Keith Urbans, Eric Churches. I didn’t do that kind of stuff with Default, so it’s something I’m constantly learning now. Pop music is pop music, but I believe country is the big leagues.

AH: I’ve had an opportunity to talk with a lot of the modern country music stars — many of whom, by the way, are from our part of Georgia. Have any of them helped you out as you’ve started this new phase of your career?

DS: When you do a tour with artists like FGL (Florida Georgia Line), you can’t help but learn. Those guys are like cartoon characters onstage, they’re so comfortable with the fans. I guarantee you, when they play, they give their fans every dollar’s worth. I find this a huge challenge because, unlike with a band like Default, it’s my name up there. That makes it a little tougher challenge.

AH: Your career kind of parallels Darius Rucker’s in that he left Hootie & the Blowfish to take a shot at country. Do you feel a kind of kinship?

DS: (laughing) That’s a whole different level when you look at what Darius did with Hootie. Mine’s more of a minor league version. I’m just blessed to have been given a second chance. It’s like most guys say, “I wish I had a second chance to go back to high school and relive some of those days.” I’ve been granted the opportunity to hit the reset button in my career. I have a chance to learn from past mistakes.

AH: Is that in general, or are there specific mistakes?

DS: Touring mistakes, little things here and there. I’ve really learned not to take anything for granted. There’s also the business side. I was so naive back with Default. We thought everything was cool, but we had an American business manager who was … well, he was a thief. In Canada, they collect a GST, which is like your income tax. Our manager was collecting the GST from Canadian shows and paying us from it, but he wasn’t paying the government. Eight or nine years later, government representatives were knocking at our door, going, “Hey, guys …” The legal mess is still going on, but we’ll get through it. I’ve learned that, for better or worse, I’ll look after my own business now.

AH: I know you have a limited amount of time for this. Thanks for taking the time to talk with us. You have the EP coming out (Monday) and “Wastin’ Gas” is starting to get a lot of attention. Plus, there’s your own tour coming up. Is that all part of the Dallas Smith master plan?

DS: Things are rolling really good in Canada, so we want to keep that up. I hope to play a lot of the big festivals in the states next year, and I’m going to do everything to introduce this Canadian guy to the people who love country music.