No label required: Corey Smith doing it his way

Corey Smith

In this era of music pirating, dwindling record sales and record company layoffs, Corey Smith, the Georgia-based singer-songwriter who performs with his trio Monday at Minglewood Hall, is the very model for how an independent musician can survive, even thrive, in the digital age.

Corey Smith: "It's never made a lot of sense for (me and a record label) to explore a relationship."

Over a career that now spans five studio releases and a live EP, the 32-year-old has built his own little music empire. Through extensive use of social media and word-of-mouth, he has been able to get the word out about his music, using free mp3 downloads on his Web site to drive CD and download sales, which in turn drives concert bookings, which drives merchandise sales. The bottom line is that in 2008 Smith hauled in $4.2 million, an impressive number for an artist not affiliated with any record label, much less a major. And though he took part of this year off to record his new record and be with his wife and two children, 2009 looks to be as profitable.

"It's never made a lot of sense for (me and a record label) to explore a relationship," Smith says during a rare holiday break at home in Jefferson, just outside of Athens. "I like the freedom that I have being an independent. I like the schedule I can set for myself. It's a lot of work. I'm gone a lot, but if I get tired or need some time at home with my family, I can make that decision and not be accountable to someone else."

Though he hardly lives the life of a rock star, Smith says the lack of major label backing hasn't curbed his artistic growth either. Keeping Up With the Joneses, his new collection on his own Undertone Records, marks a big leap forward for him both sonically and compositionally.

As a writer, Smith says he has moved away from the literal storytelling of old fan favorites like "Let Me Love You On A Backroad" to more metaphorical works like Joneses' "Sweet Sorrow" and "Arc of a Rainbow."

"I only discovered Randy Newman recently, but when I listened to (his 1974 album) Good Old Boys back in March, it just blew my mind and inspired me a lot," says Smith, citing Paul Simon as well as contemporaries like John Mayer and Jason Mraz as other key influences. "I'm sort of whittling away trying to reach what is most essential, what the deeper message is."

Working with producer Russ-T Cobb (Butch Walker, Avril Lavigne), Smith also developed an expanded musical vocabulary on Joneses to express his widened songwriting vision, adding new instruments and more intricate production to his tried-and-true rhythm section of bassist Rob Henson and drummer Marcus Petruska.

"I just wanted to explore lots of possibilities on this record and build out the vision as much as I could and worry about how people would interpret it later," Smith says. "I knew there would be fans who are used to the more organic, stripped-down acoustic stuff, but I wouldn't be doing service to the art if I let their needs or desires dictate my choices."

Corey Smith with American Aquarium

Monday at Minglewood Hall, 1555 Madison. Doors open at 7 p.m., showtime is 8 p.m. Tickets: $15 in advance, $20 day of show. Tickets available at the box office, by phone at (866) 609-1744, and online at minglewoodhall.com. For more information, call 312-6058.

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