Spring Break
An interview with Corey Smith
Ralph MacDonald
Issue date: 11/19/08 Section: Entertainment
Corey Smith is a very successful singer/songwriter from just outside of Athens, GA.
Ralph MacDonald: So I understand you went to a small school originally?
Corey Smith: I went to Gainsville College right out of High School, flunked out of there. Got my grades up and went to West Georgia and I finally had my shit together so I was able to transfer from there to Georgia.
RM: Did you find anything especially appealing or challenging about going to a small school?
CS: I enjoyed going to, Georgia's not a small school, but I did go to two small schools. I enjoyed the smaller schools, and the only reason I graduated from Georgia was that I was following my wife who was my girlfriend at the time. I didn't want to go to Georgia because I thought it was too big and I thought I would be swallowed up. But once I got there I came to love it. How big is Rhodes?
RM: About 1700 students.
CS: The high school I taught at was bigger than this.
RM: Did you play any sports as growing up?
CS: I always loved sports but I was never very athletic. Actually when I was a kid I had a very serious eye injury and that prevented me from really playing any sports. But I was a big sports fan. I did play basketball, but the only organized sport I played in high school was tennis. But I played ball with my buddies and whatnot. But I always, I loved sports and I think the fact that I wasn't very athletic made me appreciate sports that much more.
RM: Can you tell me about how Athens (Georgia) influenced you?
CS: My music has a definite sense of place to it. I talk about people and places that I have experienced and grew up around. Because I grew up around Athens it definitely had a big influence on me and is mention in, especially in some of my earlier songs. I lived in a small town about 20, 25 minutes away from Athens [Jefferson] so whenever we wanted to go to the movies or go out to eat or got get in trouble that's usually where we went. It's a pretty interesting place because of the school there, you know you meet a lot of different people there that you do not encounter in a small town. Really people from all over the world that go there, really the closest thing we had to a big city. You know, just down the road.
Ralph MacDonald: So I understand you went to a small school originally?
Corey Smith: I went to Gainsville College right out of High School, flunked out of there. Got my grades up and went to West Georgia and I finally had my shit together so I was able to transfer from there to Georgia.
RM: Did you find anything especially appealing or challenging about going to a small school?
CS: I enjoyed going to, Georgia's not a small school, but I did go to two small schools. I enjoyed the smaller schools, and the only reason I graduated from Georgia was that I was following my wife who was my girlfriend at the time. I didn't want to go to Georgia because I thought it was too big and I thought I would be swallowed up. But once I got there I came to love it. How big is Rhodes?
RM: About 1700 students.
CS: The high school I taught at was bigger than this.
RM: Did you play any sports as growing up?
CS: I always loved sports but I was never very athletic. Actually when I was a kid I had a very serious eye injury and that prevented me from really playing any sports. But I was a big sports fan. I did play basketball, but the only organized sport I played in high school was tennis. But I played ball with my buddies and whatnot. But I always, I loved sports and I think the fact that I wasn't very athletic made me appreciate sports that much more.
RM: Can you tell me about how Athens (Georgia) influenced you?
CS: My music has a definite sense of place to it. I talk about people and places that I have experienced and grew up around. Because I grew up around Athens it definitely had a big influence on me and is mention in, especially in some of my earlier songs. I lived in a small town about 20, 25 minutes away from Athens [Jefferson] so whenever we wanted to go to the movies or go out to eat or got get in trouble that's usually where we went. It's a pretty interesting place because of the school there, you know you meet a lot of different people there that you do not encounter in a small town. Really people from all over the world that go there, really the closest thing we had to a big city. You know, just down the road.
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