The Unbearable Lightness of Being Corey Smith

Just who is Corey Smith?  Loved by many, hated by many, but I want to sift through the rhetoric and add some rhetoric of my own.  Who is this guy?

I had the honor of helping out the legendary Jim Hawkins and John Keane the other night recording Corey Smith's show at the Georgia Theater.  To describe Corey Smith's music, one only needs to look at a couple of his songtitles:

21

Drinkin' Again

Every Dawg

You'll find these three things in every single one of his songs.  But what interests me is that he apparently graduated from UGA with a 4.0.  He has a wife and kid in Jefferson, Ga.  I find it hard to believe that he actually lived through his songs' tales of hangovers and drunken behavior to get all A's.  Which makes one thing clear and raises one question.

If none of Corey Smith's songs are based on his own experiences, then

1.  He is a marketing genius.  He's apparently the #1 Un-signed artist in america right now.  He grossed over a million dollars last year, touring all over the country, and has only been around for two years. 

But it also begs the question,

Q:  Who is the real Corey Smith?  

Also, during the show he sang a song in which he poked fun at contemporary country music and guys like Toby Keith for not writing their own songs.  I agree with him, to his credit he writes all his songs.  The only thing I found ironic was that probably everyone who bought a ticket to his show loves Toby Keith.  

look and listen