← The Bobby Bones Show
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- [00:01]
Canaan Smith
Yeah, fire away, dude. I want to. I want to get as deep as we can. I mean, a lot of life has happened since we've crossed paths last.
- [00:08]
Granger Smith
Yeah.
- [00:09]
Canaan Smith
And I feel like we're very aligned in our goals.
- [00:12]
Granger Smith
Yeah.
- [00:13]
Canaan Smith
Our go forward goals are very much aligned. So. Yeah, let's. Everything. It's a free open season.
- [00:19]
Granger Smith
I was talking to Amber last night and I said, when's the first time I met Canaan? And I think, I think it was you and Christy were at an award show and we were like sitting either next to each other or close to each other. Is that right?
- [00:34]
Canaan Smith
Yeah, dude, totally. Right. I'm trying to remember which one it was. It would be. It wasn't the cmts. It might have been like the cmas here in town.
- [00:45]
Granger Smith
And then I remember.
- [00:47]
Canaan Smith
You're right.
- [00:48]
Granger Smith
We did another time early on. This is kind of embarrassing, but we were. And it's kind of a vague memory. We were somewhere, I think west coast. We were on tour. And it was one of those days where just bands are in and out, in and out, in and out. And for some reason I was just in a bad mood. It was like a poorly run festival, really hot. And I remember seeing you and you were like coming off the stage and you were really mad. And then I like, you threw a drum. You threw a tom or something. A drum. And I remember feeling so good. I was like, oh, good, somebody else has got the same mood I'm in right now.
- [01:30]
Canaan Smith
Dude, how many of those shows have we played where it was just a total, you know, train wreck? You know, those throw and go situations can be so, so frustrating, man. And no, that doesn't surprise me. I will say I. I look back, there are definite moments in my career. I look back and I'm like, I was as much as. As much fun as I had in some of those peak moments. Like when I had a hit on the radio and I was out there in front of big, big crowds. All the rush of that was exciting and fun. But when I look back on it, like, the character that I'm looking at, the person that I'm looking at from this side is so different than who I am now. Like. And I think that what you just said, that story is a perfect example of. I was missing it. I was. I was just kind of missing it, missing the point of it all. You know what I mean?
- [02:25]
Granger Smith
Yeah.
- [02:25]
Canaan Smith
I just wanted everything to be perfect. And for what? For me to make a bigger name for myself so that everyone thought I had my stuff together, you know, Like, I Don't know, man. That's just a reminder to me. It's funny because I'm thankful now. I can laugh at that and. And I'm not mad at myself anymore, but I went through a season of life where I was, like, really just discouraged at how I was kind of handling my business and handling myself, you know?
- [02:52]
Granger Smith
Yes, I do. I know, man. I lived it, and I saw it, and you. And you probably saw it in me. But that's the rat race that we were living, you know, that was the hamster wheel we were on. And if you think about what the things we saw and how the beautiful people in the incredible country and it's like we weren't really even enjoying any of that at some level, truly.
- [03:21]
Canaan Smith
I know, dude. As much as I saw, I feel like it's all a blur. It's all a blur, you know? Yeah.
- [03:27]
Granger Smith
So what was the shift for you? How are you? How are you sitting here now with a new perspective?
- [03:34]
Canaan Smith
Kids.
- [03:35]
Granger Smith
Oh, yeah.
- [03:36]
Canaan Smith
You know, we had kids, and that literally changed the game for me. Plus, I walked away. Well, let me rewind a little bit. I got to the point where I was so lost as an artist after we had love you like that, it was a hit. And then we followed it up with a song called Hole in a Bottle. And it was at, like, 23, and it was just chugging along, you know, running out of gas. It felt like it wasn't going to make it all the way. And I was frustrated that, you know, we couldn't do two in a row, and I wanted that momentum. And I was looking left and right at everyone else and what they had going, and I was like, why is my, you know, why is this not happening? Meanwhile, you got, you know, a bunch of people in your ear about, you know, help, you know, decision making wasn't just from my gut or my prayer, you know, time with God. It was a bunch of advice from more than just me, you know, a lot of people, a lot of cooks in the kitchen, and I felt lost in that process, and I got lost, so I actually walked away from it. As far as, like, the record deal situation, I. I had a talk with the CEO of the record label, Mike Dungan, who is an awesome dude, and we hit it off really good. But I just went into him and I told him how I felt, and I just laid it all out there. I was like, I don't even know what I want to do anymore. To be honest with you, man. I don't know what I have to say. As an artist. I'm completely. I need to go find myself. Can you let me out of this deal? He was, he understood. He's a, he's an artist first kind of label exec in the first place. So like that was to my advantage that he understood where I was coming from and he, and he supported that, you know, me going to find myself again. So I walked away from it. I shelved a really good situation because I was being impatient and ungrateful. I lost sight. You know, that was a recipe for like, okay, well now what? You know, like now I'm totally, yeah, screwed here. I've got no team, I got no go forward songs. I don't know what I have to say or who's going to help me say it. So that was a time of just like kind of reflecting and, and so.
- [05:57]
Granger Smith
What year is this happening?
- [05:59]
Canaan Smith
This is 2018.
- [06:00]
Granger Smith
2018. Yeah, yeah, yeah. That's probably the same year I saw you at that festival.
- [06:05]
Canaan Smith
Probably was, dude. Probably was. And I took a minute and I was hanging out with, with Tyler Hubbard, who's a good friend of mine, and we were working out and he started telling me that he was about to start a new venture, a publishing venture and maybe a record label at the same time. And I was like, oh, that's interesting. That could be cool. And so honestly, that just kind of like came about through it just sort of just coming to the table naturally through us hanging out and conversations about what he wanted to do next in his career and the kind of the team and structure he wanted to build. And I ended up fitting into that equation. And so I signed a record deal with, with him and BK under the name Round Here Records and a publishing deal as well. And so this was 2019. And at this time, Granger, I was like, not even sure. I mean, I, like I told you I was lost as an artist so I didn't know what I was going to do next in that regard. But I still love writing songs and so I focused a little bit more on that than I had been in the past. I wanted to kind of double down as a songwriter and go hard in the pain on that front. And so I did that whole. Right. You know, four times.
- [07:35]
Granger Smith
Yeah.
- [07:36]
Canaan Smith
Sometimes five times a week.
- [07:37]
Granger Smith
Yeah.
- [07:37]
Canaan Smith
And I did that for about two years and not really even thinking about what's next for me as an artist. And that was a transitional phase where it was a little bit tough at first because, you know, you go at one speed and you're, you know, you're kind of just Coasting for a minute, and then everything. It felt like the rug was pulled out a little bit, and I had to had this downshift and go back to square one and kind of find my bearings again. And what was beautiful about the partnership there with. With Tyler and BK was that I'd known those guys for enough time that they knew I was lost, you know, and they were able to kind of, like, speak into me and help me get back on track a little bit. So it was a transitional season. And then meanwhile, my wife gets pregnant, and this is, you know, going on in the background, too, all at the same time. And our daughter Virginia was born on Halloween of 2019. So shortly after I started working with those guys, we had a. We had our first child. And I was starting at that point to be like, okay, you know, I feel like I've got some new direction as far as where I want to go next musically. And I started to put a little tour together for the January. I think we're gonna do some late January dates in 2020. So two weekends into this club tour thing, covet hit.
- [09:08]
Granger Smith
Yeah.
- [09:08]
Canaan Smith
And then that couldn't be on the road anymore. And so it was another bit of a rug pulled out from under me. I'm starting to see a theme here, actually, as we're talking, that God has intervened multiple times on my path in the form of pulling the rug out, and not as a. Not. I don't say that as a victim. I say that with gratitude, honestly, um, because I've never been happier than I am now.
- [09:40]
Granger Smith
Well, let me say right there that there's an interview that you did, and there's a quote that you have that says around the same time you're talking about, you said, I feel like I had come home and God knew it. My perspective needed shifting.
- [09:56]
Canaan Smith
Yeah, it did, dude. It really did. I didn't know it, but he did. And sometimes he. You know, in the Bible, he talks through a donkey at one point. Is it Balaam? Is that name as a donkey?
- [10:08]
Granger Smith
He does. He uses a bush, too.
- [10:11]
Canaan Smith
And a bush.
- [10:12]
Granger Smith
A lot of things. Yeah. And a witch.
- [10:14]
Canaan Smith
Yeah.
- [10:15]
Granger Smith
Yeah.
- [10:16]
Canaan Smith
Wow. Crazy. So I felt like, you know, I have. I have felt redirected. And then to speed up the story a little bit, Covid hit. Came off the road for a good long season. Got to spend real quality time at home.
- [10:35]
Granger Smith
Yeah.
- [10:35]
Canaan Smith
For the first time, you know. Really? Because Christy and I got married and I went on radio tour literally a week after we got married.
- [10:42]
Granger Smith
Yeah.
- [10:42]
Canaan Smith
In 2014. So you know what that's like yeah. Anyhow, then being home and having a new. Being a new dad, all of that at the same time was exactly what my heart needed and, and exactly where. What my faith needed. Because all the tearing that happens, you know, even as a dad, I mean, I'm not gonna lie to you, bro. I have moments every single day where I fall apart. So I know you know what I'm talking about.
- [11:08]
Granger Smith
Oh yeah.
- [11:10]
Canaan Smith
I yell at the kids and I hate myself for it. But I'll get so short with them because I've got other things I need to get done. The chaos is keeping me from getting done. But all of that's so good for me. For a guy like me, it's like. And God's just like being so gracious to me along this path of, of, you know, me having to this, this, this great awakening that's happened and is happening still for me. And I don't know what, what the point is other than on a, on a. You know, on the level of being dad and being Christie's husband, like on that level, the things that matter most. I'm being tweaked in all the right ways. I think God's tightening what needs tightened and tearing off what needs tearing. And, and that. And as a result of that, I'm also feeling more fulfilled creatively. I'm getting to open myself up. And what I bring to the table now comes. Comes from, you know, a different side perspective that is on the other side of not maturity, but sort of.
- [12:24]
Granger Smith
Yeah, that's a good word for it.
- [12:25]
Canaan Smith
I mean, I guess. Right. So that was the shift, really. Man, that was many. It took a few steps, right? And even the, the record deal I ended up signing with, with, with the boys that got canned when they called it quits as a duo. They closed up shop on the record deal. That was another like rug pulled moment that I needed to get me to hear for this album that I just put out to even to have happened. You know, it wouldn't have happened had I. You know. And I was actually halfway down the road cutting a second album with them for. And some of the same songs that are on this album were already underway, but we re recorded them, obviously.
- [13:07]
Granger Smith
And this is independent. This record's independent.
- [13:10]
Canaan Smith
Totally independent. Yeah.
- [13:11]
Granger Smith
How did you. How did you fund it? I mean, it sounds, it sounds expensive.
- [13:16]
Canaan Smith
I'm so proud of. It is expensive to record music as you know. But it was a partnership with. I got, I got $15,000. Actually I got a $20,000 check from a camper company. I use we have a camper trailer.
- [13:34]
Granger Smith
I saw that on your Instagram. It. Awesome. Like, I want to talk to you about that thing because that. Yeah, for sure. That looks like.
- [13:40]
Canaan Smith
Yeah, it's called Modern Buggy. That's the brand. And they have all kinds of different models and sizes and things, but the one we have fits in my garage. It's super easy to just hook up and go. But I had bought one from. From the guy who owns the company. We. We crossed paths somehow. He. He was hosting us like a songwriter night in Michigan, and I got asked to do it and we hit it off and he ended up telling me, you know, he had these cool buggies, and I was like, oh, sweet, I might want to get one. I ended up getting one. He gave me a great deal on it. And then, you know, I made some posts about it because I really love it. We. Yeah, a lot.
- [14:20]
Granger Smith
Yeah.
- [14:21]
Canaan Smith
And he just decided, you know, let's. Let's try to collaborate on that front and, you know, let's help each other out. You advertise the buggy, and I'll give you some money to do that. So he gave me $20,000 last year.
- [14:34]
Granger Smith
Yeah.
- [14:35]
Canaan Smith
In April of last year. And three, two weeks later, we were in the studio recording the album with that money. It's. I spent $15,000 for. For the entire project, the recording of the project, and I spent the other 5,000 on a videographer to help with some assets for socials. So all it is $20,000 to get it to where it is. No.
- [15:01]
Granger Smith
And that's for people listening. That's still very difficult to. To be within 20 seconds.
- [15:08]
Canaan Smith
That's dirt cheap.
- [15:10]
Granger Smith
That is dirt cheap. Crazy. I mean, a normal record where you say 100,000, like a normal, normal record with a record label just to record for.
- [15:19]
Canaan Smith
Sure.
- [15:19]
Granger Smith
Edit and have it.
- [15:21]
Canaan Smith
And paying a producer fee and all that other stuff that Anthony Olympia, who produced my record, decided he didn't need a producer fee. We just did a split the master situation, and I'm so grateful for that. So you can get creative these days, you know, and piecemeal a record together the way that you have, you know, the way that you can afford. And that's what we did.
- [15:42]
Granger Smith
There are people that will charge $2,500 just to mix a song. And you have. You have 11 songs on this record. That's to put that in perspective.
- [15:52]
Canaan Smith
Yeah, exactly. So I've got. I mean, this is the. This is the result of very kind, very talented humans who gave their incredible gifts to this project for a Very insanely low price. You know, I don't know that I could replicate it again necessarily, because. Because they're worth a lot more than that. But, yeah, I'm really proud of where we came in.
- [16:19]
Granger Smith
Yeah, you should be, man. I mean, sonically, the thing is solid. I've gotten to listen to it several times now. Probably it. Like, if I was gonna decide a favorite, probably every day. Joe, I think. I think I'm going there or pay it forward or in time with you, probably. Cool.
- [16:41]
Canaan Smith
I love those three.
- [16:43]
Granger Smith
So 11 songs. Did you know. Let me ask you this. There's no way you could know this answer, but let me just. Let me ask you anyway. 11 songs. How many of the. The 11 do you think have some kind of faith element in the song itself, in the lyrics? I know the answer. I'm just asking.
- [17:04]
Canaan Smith
Probably half of them. I don't know. I'd say a majority of them.
- [17:08]
Granger Smith
10. 10.
- [17:10]
Canaan Smith
Really?
- [17:10]
Granger Smith
10 songs have. And I. Wow.
- [17:13]
Canaan Smith
Yeah. I didn't know that.
- [17:14]
Granger Smith
The only one is in time with you is the only one that does it. And that's, you know, it's a love song, but every other one. And I'm counting. I'm counting if it. The word angel, the word prayer, the word preacher, you know, I'm adding. I'm make. So your record is. You're definitely thinking through things. And there's. There's something inside of you that. That speaks in your songwriting, in your performing. Um, whether you even know it or not, I think it's just. That's the foundation you're on. You. You. You come from this foundation. So it's. I guess I should say it's, like, impossible for you to write an album and not your faith, not be prevalent in it.
- [17:59]
Canaan Smith
Praise God for that, dude. Honestly, there's. You know, we're set apart as believers. That's what. That's what the word teaches us, that we're set apart, right? And then we're called out, out of the world. We're called out of darkness into light.
- [18:14]
Granger Smith
That' what the word holy means. Holy means set apart. Which is. Which is God's overarching attribute is his holiness. It's often forgotten because people go, well, God, his greatest attribute is love. No, not necessarily. Love is an outpouring of his holiness. He's loving because he's holy. Set apart. We are not like Him. He is set apart from the universe, and so we're made in his image. But almost like a shadow is in the image of me or you, the shadow is made in our image, but it is not like us. It mimics, it mimics our appearance. Or like a, like the George Washington or nuts about it, like the, the Abraham Lincoln memorial in Washington D.C. mimics his appearance of Lincoln. But it's not like him. He is holy. And so the Bible says we should be holy. Holy too. And that word is like, it's almost looked down upon, like we can't achieve it. Or like the word saint, for instance, that that word is holy one. That's what the word saint means.
- [19:22]
Canaan Smith
I didn't know that.
- [19:23]
Granger Smith
You know, in country music we think a lot of times it's like you're like, I'm not a saint like my wife. Well, we're called to be saints. In fact, we're referred to as Christians, as saints, meaning to your point, set apart.
- [19:37]
Canaan Smith
That's wild, dude.
- [19:39]
Granger Smith
You know, at some point in our lives, things got a lot easier@geeky.com and grangersmith.com when me and my two brothers switched over to Shopify and let them handle the checkout portion of our website. I know that kind of sounds complicated, but if you're wanting to start a business or start some kind of e commerce marketing company, you need to think about Shopify to handle all your checkout needs like so many thousands of other companies have done across the world. They handle credit card sales and all other online digital sales and help you concentrate on your creativity so you could concentrate on your product and how the website itself looks. And they deal with the nitty gritty details of the checkout process. So upgrade your business and get the same checkout as we use with Shopify. Sign up for your $1 per month trial period at shopify.com grainger all lowercase go to shopify.com grainger to upgrade your selling today. Shopify.com granger as a reminder, you could always get a hold of me on cameo.com grangersmith it's a great way to get a message, a video message from me from anywhere in the world to whoever you want to send it to. You go to cameo.com grangersmith and you fill out the whatever you want me to say. Happy anniversary, Happy birthday. Maybe a word of encouragement to someone that needs to hear it and that person may be you and then I'll send you a video message. It's super easy and it's a good gift. I've been doing this for for many years now. It's a good gift to someone that is impossible to buy for. You don't know what to get them Once again, go to cameo.com grangersmith I gotta tell you all about this. Have you heard about Yee Yee Fest? It's happening this year, May 9th and 10th in Georgetown, Texas at the Yee Yee Farm. So you can come hang out with us, meet my brothers, my family. We'll all be there. We've got a track show happening. We've got a mud bog competition, kind of like we did last year. But the new addition this year is a concert by me and my band and my old crew. This is not a tour. This is not me getting back into music. This is one time every year we hope to do a concert for my friends and family, especially Maverick, who's never seen me play live before. So come out, have a meal with me and my family on Friday night. I'm going to give a little devotional from the Bible, maybe play an acoustic song or two. This is really a once in a lifetime experience. And if you want to find out more, go to Ye yee dot com.
- [21:58]
Canaan Smith
There's a, there's a part of me that can't run and there's. I think once you're. And I'm, I can talk about my brothers, my older brothers, because they've, they've had a journey with their faith. They've had, they've had ups and downs. They've lived a hard life. We all dealt with loss, you know, when we were kids and they took it really hard. And did you?
- [22:24]
Granger Smith
Did you not?
- [22:26]
Canaan Smith
I did too. 100.
- [22:28]
Granger Smith
You were younger? Is that what you're trying to say?
- [22:30]
Canaan Smith
I was, I was 11 and they were 15. You know, so there was a difference there. But also there's like a, there's like a foundation back to that foundation right there. I can look back at our, at the way I was raised, speak, you know, spiritually speaking, and point out a bunch of things that nowadays I was like, man, that was misguided or gosh, that was controlling or this, you know, and point to a lot of things that were not great and, and damaging, honestly in some of the, the upbringing, the faith practices and the church as a whole at different times. But I was, I was the foundation. You can't replace the value that, that, that, that now has in my adult life. And I'm so grateful for it, even though it wasn't perfect. Like the people who were trying to lead me and my parents who, you know, brought me up this way, we're doing their best through all the imperfections, that foundation for it to stand still. Some. They did Something right. And the faith is. The faith has been tested and proven to be authentic over time. And what you're saying by the fact that there's. I don't even know it and it's coming out, that's just proof that that foundation was real and that what. What I believe and what I proclaim to believe from. From the age of a child till now, like, has been proven authentic. Because I wouldn't talk about it otherwise. It wouldn't come out in my. It wouldn't come from my heart if it wasn't in there, you know, so my brothers, I want them to get to that point where they can celebrate the imperfections from the past in their. In that spiritual upbringing because they're more damaged by it than it's almost. They haven't gotten to that point where they were able to accept the imperfections for what they were and still be left with at the end. What they're holding in their hand is a true, honest faith that comes from the heart. So that's kind of like. I don't even know what got me talking about this. Do you know.
- [24:54]
Granger Smith
Do you know the. Can you trace back the root of your brother's. You lost your brother when he was 16. You were 11. Car accident.
- [25:06]
Canaan Smith
Right.
- [25:08]
Granger Smith
Tell me, walk me through the community in the church. And, and also, you know, what. What went wrong? What did the church do wrong that now your brothers are where they are now?
- [25:23]
Canaan Smith
Great questions. The community was very much supportive through all of it. We had a lot of close friends. We had people who. Who cared deeply for us. That was never a question. We never felt alone in that regard. Right. I didn't feel like I was going through. Through loss alone. Which. It was a huge blessing.
- [25:50]
Granger Smith
Yes.
- [25:52]
Canaan Smith
The. I think. I think, honestly, man, like, you know, probably you've had stories that you can relate to or, or that you've been through on your own in regards to. Sometimes there's misguided or there's. There's a misuse of power sometimes. And in. In any organization. And a church isn't, you know.
- [26:21]
Granger Smith
Yeah.
- [26:21]
Canaan Smith
In layman's terms is an organization to a degree. Right.
- [26:25]
Granger Smith
So exactly. There's organized by humans. Yeah, yeah.
- [26:28]
Canaan Smith
Yeah. So I think that there were just some say one thing, but behind closed doors do another kind of like examples that made them think that it was kind of a joke, you know, or that this person's not, you know, they're not living the walk that they're talking, you know.
- [26:48]
Granger Smith
So what kind of church was it?
- [26:49]
Canaan Smith
You know, it was a Non denominational. You know, spirit filled. You know, we spoke in tongues and we were rolling on the ground, banners up and down the aisles, man, you.
- [27:04]
Granger Smith
Know, that's not non denominational.
- [27:08]
Canaan Smith
Oh, yeah, It's Pentecostal.
- [27:10]
Granger Smith
Yeah. See, what happens is churches that. Non denominational churches are either Baptist or Assembly of God, but. Okay. And you'll know by, well, how are they, how are they baptizing and how are they receiving the Holy Spirit? You know, you could tell quickly. Oh, I see this is actually an assembly of God church or. I see this is actually Baptist church. They just took the name off the sign.
- [27:38]
Canaan Smith
Yeah, totally. Yeah, it definitely had assembly of God roots because we would. I mean, look, I'm not throwing. You don't throw the baby out with the bath water. They say.
- [27:48]
Granger Smith
Nope, that's not.
- [27:49]
Canaan Smith
I won't. I won't do that either. With my upbringing. No, I believe in. I believe in the filling of the Holy Spirit, the moment you profess your faith, the indwelling of the Holy Spirit, and I believe in the gifts of the Holy Spirit. But I think that the, The. The intentional or not, once you mix humanity with the Holy Spirit, there can be. There can be some ugly, misguided stuff, and you can start chasing after the gifts of the Spirit more than you're chasing after pleasing God.
- [28:27]
Granger Smith
Absolutely.
- [28:28]
Canaan Smith
Real life. Absolutely. So that's where the damage was the most. Like this Holy roller kind of like speak, but really couldn't, you know, being far from that in their actual. How they're treating people, their outlook of, you know, the world. And so it was just, you know, it just didn't add up.
- [28:50]
Granger Smith
So are you saying. Are you saying that, you know, this huge tragedy happens in your family and the, the church, as loving and supportive as they were, there's also this element of, well, seek him harder. You know, seek God harder. You guys, you know, you're missing. The Holy Spirit needs to pour himself out on you, so work harder to seek him. That's kind of what you're saying.
- [29:13]
Canaan Smith
Bingo. Bingo.
- [29:15]
Granger Smith
And so your brother, your brothers end up just saying, I don't want to work hard anymore. Nothing's happening.
- [29:22]
Canaan Smith
Yeah. Yeah. 100, dude.
- [29:25]
Granger Smith
Yeah, that's.
- [29:25]
Canaan Smith
I've never seen it that, that, that profoundly simple. But I think that you're right. I think that there was a sense of, like, you can. If you pray hard enough or consistently enough, you can get. You can feel a deeper. You can get closer, you can have a more, you know, a bigger Holy Spirit encounter, you know, and, or. Or you can. This person will Be healed from cancer. Damn it. If you pr.
- [29:52]
Granger Smith
Yeah. Yeah. And sometimes. Sometimes you just need them to say, I'm so sorry, man. Let me just sit with you. Yeah. I'm so sorry. We don't have to say anything. It's not always about, let's work harder, and you're going to be healed, you know?
- [30:08]
Canaan Smith
Right.
- [30:09]
Granger Smith
Jesus. Jesus didn't do that. Sometimes Jesus would just sit and listen or ask questions and really good questions. How are your brothers today?
- [30:22]
Canaan Smith
They're. You know, they're amazing people. Like, they have. They have a lot of gifts as far as what they could. What they offer in a room. They can light up a room. They can really connect with people and make people feel like they're listening, you know, that they care, you know? And those are qualities that I think are super admirable about them both. But there's a. There's a fuse that's very short, and there's. And I think it's a lot of. Because I think it's a. I think it's. The fuse is made out of bitterness and some anger and some hatred, and that when it gets lit, you know, it's not fun to watch. Like, just. It's just. I feel like they're. They're not happy, you know, I think. I think they're not. I don't think they love themselves. I think they have a hard time believing Jesus still loves them.
- [31:23]
Granger Smith
Those two. Those two things work backwards. What you just said. When you realize Jesus loves you, then you could truly know yourself. Then you could truly. You could truly rest in who you are because he has your identity, not you.
- [31:41]
Canaan Smith
And how. How. Like, how. How. How simple and. And how powerful is that? Jesus loves you. Like, it looks like a bumper sticker or it feels like a preschool song, but it's not any more difficult. It's not. It's not supposed to be any more difficult than that statement. Yeah, Jesus loves you. God so loved the world. You know, that's really. The whole ball of wax. You're right. It's all right. Like, our. Our contentment, our purpose, our identity, everything down here hinges on do we. Do we know that and do we accept that?
- [32:28]
Granger Smith
Yeah, man. When. When I was in the darkest place in my life and rock bottom, and when the Lord brought me out of that, it was in a realization that he loves me when I least deserved to be loved or when I was the most unlovable, you know? Romans 5, 8. While we were still sinners, God shows his love for us. How? While we were still sinners. Christ died for us when we were unlovable. And when that reality grabs you, and I've heard so many people, it sounds like it's similar to your testimony too. When that reality finally wraps you up, you say, why would he forgive me? Why would he pursue me? Why would he give me an inheritance to the kingdom? Oh, because he loves me beyond what I could possibly understand. And it's usually that's the thing. Like, that's what wakes people up, and they go, oh, my God. Then from there, then they want to be obedient. Then they want to read their Bibles. Then they want to join a local body of believers and celebrate and tell. Then they want to evangelize and tell other people about them. It comes from being loved. That's the beginning. And so. So many times people try to do it backwards, and they go, man, I need to. First I need to learn how to love myself. And once I learn how to love myself, then I'll. Then I'll really get into this church thing. And the way the Bible speaks, it's like, you can't love yourself, bro, until you know who he is. You can't even know yourself until you know who he is. And then everything changes. That sounds like the story of your brothers.
- [34:09]
Canaan Smith
I think it is, man.
- [34:11]
Granger Smith
And it sounds like what the. The conversion you made from the old days to. You're a different person, man, than what you used to be. So am I.
- [34:20]
Canaan Smith
But. Yes, but I'm talking about you.
- [34:22]
Granger Smith
You're a different person. Something happened with you, man. You say it's kids. The Lord uses kids. Yeah.
- [34:31]
Canaan Smith
I think he's. I think he's still got a long way to go. But I'm very grateful to have more purpose, or at least being aware that there's more purpose than just how big is my music career gonna. Gonna be, you know?
- [34:48]
Granger Smith
Well, let's. Let's get to that. Let me tell you these. Let me tell you these lyrics here. You wrote these. In the grip of changing winds and the hands of open waters, the shadow of the moon and the rising tide, it conjures heaven. Hear my prayer, lest the will of God desert me. You didn't bring me all this way for barren shoals to show me no mercy.
- [35:15]
Canaan Smith
You believe that 100%. I still, every day believe it. I am a. I am on the journey still. And that's why that song, every time I hear it, it helps me. It helps me remember. I'm gonna feel tossed. I'm gonna feel lost. I'm gonna feel like I'm Never gonna. I'm. I'm always gonna feel like, will I ever get there?
- [35:44]
Granger Smith
You know what you said three times. You realize what you said three times in a row? Feel. The problem is feel. I'm going to feel lost. I'm going to feel like he's abandoned me. I'm going to feel like the tides are changing. I'm going to feel, feel, feel. And so we take what we feel and we put that under the accountability of what we know. What we know he is doing. Paul says in Philippians one that he who began a good work in you will bring it to completion. In the midst of all that, you're gonna feel tired. You're gonna feel lost. You're gonna feel like your faith is failing. You're gonna feel like you're a bad father and a bad husband and a failed musician and your career is tanking. You're gonna feel, feel, feel. We see this in the Psalms all the time. It's great to go see King David and what he writes in the Psalms of like, he feels, feels, feels. And then he knows there's the accountability. But I know. I know what you're doing, Lord, and you wrote it in your song. You didn't bring me all this way for barren shoals to show me no mercy. The Lord didn't bring you all this way. Canaan, through all this, through tragedy in your life, your parents didn't make it, did they? They didn't make it through this.
- [37:01]
Canaan Smith
It was. No. They're not together. Is that what you mean?
- [37:03]
Granger Smith
No. Yeah.
- [37:04]
Canaan Smith
No. They got divorced. Yeah.
- [37:06]
Granger Smith
You're.
- [37:07]
Canaan Smith
Yeah.
- [37:07]
Granger Smith
The Lord didn't bring you through all of this so that at the very end he can go, oh, Canaan, you didn't make it. I'm so sorry, buddy. Now he's working. All of this. All of this pain has a purpose. Paul says that this light, momentary affliction is producing an eternal weight of glory. So all this is working for us. And he didn't bring you all this way for barren shoals to show you no mercy. That's a. That is an amazing thought. Because what you've been through, brother, is. Is. Let me say it this way. It's impossible. You can't do it. You won't make it on your own. So you rest in him. You rest in him who has a plan that. That turn that will be working all things for good, for those who love him. That's an incredible promise, man.
- [38:05]
Canaan Smith
I believe it. Thank you for that reminder, man. It's huge. I love you, buddy. Thank you.
- [38:12]
Granger Smith
Man, I love you, dude.
- [38:13]
Canaan Smith
Needed to hear it.
- [38:16]
Granger Smith
I'm sorry to take us. To take us to this level.
- [38:20]
Canaan Smith
No, this is what I. This is what I'm here for.
- [38:23]
Granger Smith
We're just inviting everybody into a conversation between us right now.
- [38:27]
Canaan Smith
This is great, man.
- [38:30]
Granger Smith
I do think there's more to say about your career. Let me ask you this. This is another thinker here. You think the Lord wants you to have a successful music career? It's not a trick question. It's not like a gotcha question. Do you think the Lord wants you to have a successful music career?
- [38:52]
Canaan Smith
I don't know. I know the Lord wants me to know him.
- [39:03]
Granger Smith
Boom.
- [39:04]
Canaan Smith
I know that.
- [39:06]
Granger Smith
Boom. So when you know that the purpose of you knowing him, really, the Bible says, is so that he is glorified. But it's not like some cosmic narcissism, you know, like, he's not up in heaven going, I want you to know me so that I get the glory. Canaan, like, he doesn't need anything. In fact, he's perfectly complete the way he is. The triune God is perfectly complete. He doesn't need you or me. He doesn't need my evangelism or your music or anything. But because he created you, and here it is because he loves you, He. He wants you to glorify him. And here's the illustration to that. It's like, imagine a museum, Incredible museum. And in that museum, through all the displays, there's this one painting that's mind blowing, totally dynamic. It's an incredible painting. And it's sitting there on this. On this display. And here you come, and I come. We come walking in there, and we're on our phones, looking down, walking through this museum, going by this display. We're looking down on our phones, just, like, mindlessly scrolling something. And if the painting, in that moment, if the painting could talk, it would say, kanan, look to me. Look up. Look to me. Not because I need you to look at me. Not because it makes me feel better if you look at me, but because if you look at me, this will change your life because you will get so much joy giving me glory.
- [40:40]
Canaan Smith
Yeah.
- [40:41]
Granger Smith
And that's why God says, canaan, know me. Know me. And then if you have a successful music career, awesome. If you don't and he's leading you somewhere else, awesome. Right? But. But at some level, as long as the bills are paid, as long as you're. You're taking care of your wife and kids, then. Then. And giving him the praise, then you will feel joy. You Will feel contentment in that. It's crazy, right?
- [41:05]
Canaan Smith
Yes. Yes. I can testify to that 100%. Because I'm only. I'm only there now for the first time, where I'm. I have a career. I did. My career is music. Right. But I'm not defined by it for the first time. And that's okay. It's. It's beautiful that I'm not. I'm. I've accepted that. And, you know, if I. I'm open to whatever he has because I want to know him, and I want my family to know him. I want us to have. I want us to. To experience God to the fullest. That's my goal in life. So.
- [41:40]
Granger Smith
Amen, brother.
- [41:42]
Canaan Smith
Whatever he's got planned, sign me up.
- [41:44]
Granger Smith
And by the way, on top of all that, you're also incredibly talented. The Lord has gifted you with incredible. This album's amazing. And so, you know, we can't say any of that without also saying the Lord has definitely gifted you as an entertainer, as a writer, as a singer, performer, guitar player, all the above.
- [42:04]
Canaan Smith
Thanks, man.
- [42:05]
Granger Smith
But that also doesn't necessarily mean. Because of that, you will equally have success in it.
- [42:11]
Canaan Smith
Right.
- [42:11]
Granger Smith
Just like all your peers.
- [42:13]
Canaan Smith
Yeah.
- [42:14]
Granger Smith
So who knows? I mean, I love that that's your answer. So you mentioned earlier that we have this mutual friend, Nugget. I call him Chris Clifton.
- [42:24]
Canaan Smith
Yep, that's right.
- [42:25]
Granger Smith
That's how I met him. I said, dude, I said, I'm going to have a conversation with Kana today. I thought you'd want to know. And he was like, oh, it's amazing. And then he sends me this text, and he says, here's some things that you might not know about him. He cooks spaghetti three nights a week.
- [42:43]
Canaan Smith
Is that true?
- [42:45]
Granger Smith
What's up with that?
- [42:47]
Canaan Smith
That's hilarious, dude. It is true. It is true. We made it last night, actually.
- [42:55]
Granger Smith
That's good. All right, what about this one? He said he once pushed a terrified girl down a slide on national television.
- [43:03]
Canaan Smith
What does that mean?
- [43:05]
Granger Smith
What?
- [43:06]
Canaan Smith
I'm gonna kill him.
- [43:08]
Granger Smith
What does that mean?
- [43:09]
Canaan Smith
I was on the Amazing Race, that TV show, and the girl who was my partner, I was dating at the time, and we got to this. The challenge was the. To just literally go down a water slide. It was a. A big water slide, but it was still just a water slide. All you had to do was go down it. And she was so terrified that she sat up there for 45 minutes at the top, and I was trying to peel her hands from the bar so I could push her down the Slide and go get our million dollars. That's what he's talking. That's what he's talking about.
- [43:49]
Granger Smith
I do remember when he first said that, I didn't know what he was talking about. Now I remember that moment. You know what else he said, though? He said this. Chris said, I will say he is one of the kindest and most thoughtful dudes that I know. He's always reaching out to his friends to check on them, to see how things are going. I know that's random, but he's really good at that, and I agree, man. Kanan, that's you, and that's the Lord working in you. That's not the same guy that was throwing the drums at that music festival in the west coast that day.
- [44:23]
Canaan Smith
True story.
- [44:24]
Granger Smith
The Lord has softened you, man. And it's. It's beautiful, man. It's beautiful to see what the Lord is doing with you.
- [44:32]
Canaan Smith
I appreciate that very much. Yeah. Like you said first, I can't take the credit for that. That's. That is Jesus doing his thing, man. But it's really cool when people feel the effects of what he's doing, you know?
- [44:45]
Granger Smith
Amen.
- [44:46]
Canaan Smith
Because the biggest. Our biggest responsibility is to try to love others. Right? That was the great commission.
- [44:51]
Granger Smith
That's right.
- [44:52]
Canaan Smith
So.
- [44:53]
Granger Smith
That's right.
- [44:54]
Canaan Smith
I love hearing that, bro.
- [44:58]
Granger Smith
I love the record. I love all the songs. I love that it's independent. I love that you made it for an amazing $15,000. I still don't really know how you did that.
- [45:13]
Canaan Smith
I don't either.
- [45:14]
Granger Smith
But most importantly, I love that the Lord is drawing you and changing you and redirecting your thoughts and your. Your passions. I mean, I could definitely speak to that. That the Lord starts rearranging desires and changing passions. And at one time. At one time, you and I both were, you know, our whole world revolved around, let's make this single work, you know?
- [45:41]
Canaan Smith
Yeah. 100.
- [45:42]
Granger Smith
And then when the single works, the. The. I mean, the very next thought you have is, okay, time for. Time to do it again on the next single. And that never ends.
- [45:53]
Canaan Smith
No. And. And how can you be happy doing it like that?
- [45:56]
Granger Smith
It's impossible.
- [45:57]
Canaan Smith
I couldn't.
- [45:57]
Granger Smith
I mean, like, what would. What would make us happy? Five number ones. No.
- [46:01]
Canaan Smith
I know.
- [46:02]
Granger Smith
No. Was it six? How about nine? 10? No, because then you want 15. Would 15 number one singles make us happy? No. Gotta hit it. Even 20 never ends. So anyway, man, I appreciate the conversation. I hope get to do it again.
- [46:23]
Canaan Smith
I got a bunch. I wanna. I wanna. I wanna do this again because I want to hear, like, and we can just do it over over beers and on the phone one time too, if you want. But yeah, there's a lot to catch up to on, on your side of the story, and I, I, I want to keep diving in on too.
- [46:37]
Granger Smith
Okay.
- [46:37]
Canaan Smith
But thank you for the time today, man. It was awesome.
- [46:40]
Granger Smith
You know, man, that's same same to you. It's, it's an honor to have you, Kanan. And let's keep talking.
- [46:45]
Canaan Smith
Love it, dude. Love you.
- [46:47]
Granger Smith
Love you. All right, see you, bro. Thanks for joining me on the Granger Smith podcast. I appreciate all of you guys. You could help me out by rating this podcast on itunes. If you're on YouTube, subscribe to this channel. Hit that little like button and notifications bell so that you never miss. Miss. Anytime I upload a video.