Conversations with Geoff Schmith

Today we’d like to introduce you to Geoff Schmith.

Hi Geoff, thanks for sharing your story with us. To start, maybe you can tell our readers some of your backstories.
I moved to TN from FL with my wife in 2015 to pursue songwriting. I have a background in musical theater/theater and had recently decided I wanted to try my hand at writing and crafting songs. I spent the first couple of years commuting to Nashville for co-writes and learning the craft. At the end of 2017, I met a singer/songwriter named Alan Long and we started to write and work together. We formed the band Yonder Grove and started playing out live as a duo then brought in other players in hopes that we could start playing more gigs as a full band. Several months later Alan stepped away for personal reasons and a few of the other musicians moved so I had to start fresh again. I met our drummer Jake White at a gig and we began writing and performing together.

He introduced me to our guitar player Corey Beckum and our bass player Trent Lemay and we started working together at the end of 2018, we’ve been playing gigs as a 4 piece in Columbia, Franklin, Murfreesboro, Chattanooga, Knoxville, and Nashville. We’ve played Gulf Shores, AL, and Tupelo, MS as well and have opened for a few National touring acts. We released our first studio album back in March of this year and have plans to release an EP around the beginning of 2023. We are an independent and unsigned band that wears many hats so I function as the band’s manager and booker as well as a member of the band. We are always looking for new opportunities to play whether it’s clubs, bars, festivals, or playhouses.

Can you talk to us a bit about the challenges and lessons you’ve learned along the way? Looking back would you say it’s been easy or smooth in retrospect?
We are fortunate that all 4 of us are on the “same page” when it comes to all aspects of the band. From practice to gigs, writing and arranging our songs as well as what direction we want the band to head. We also have spouses that are very supportive of us and our goals. Because of that support and our commitment to each other as a band, we haven’t faced too many challenges. We have become a family but the band functions as a business.

That’s not to say we don’t disagree with each other from time to time. That is part of the process, part of the journey.

We stay in constant communication with each other and everyone has a say in all matters related to the band before we make decisions.

Appreciate you sharing that. What else should we know about what you do?
I’m a singer/songwriter and a member of the band Yonder Grove out of Columbia, TN. I’m one of the vocalists and play acoustic guitar. I’m more known in the band for my vocals but I’m lucky enough to create original music with 3 incredibly talented musicians-Trent Lemay, Corey Beckum, and Jake White. I’m extremely proud of how cohesive our band is as well as how tight our chemistry is on and off stage.

I can honestly say without a doubt that there are no egos with this band-We all bring something to the group and we strive to showcase our creativity and abilities with every song we produce and every gig we play. There truly is something different about this band that I haven’t experienced with other endeavors that I’ve been involved with in the past and I’m excited and thankful to continue to be a part of this journey with my bandmates.

Do you have any advice for those just starting out?
It takes WORK. It doesn’t just happen overnight or in a month or even a year. Set goals and work hard to accomplish them. We still have plenty of work to do but we enjoy the process and we stay focused on our goals. Music is my first passion so creating and writing are a big part of it. However, I also treat the band as a business so that means creating a brand to do that there are other factors like having a PRO setup, creating a website, and having distribution and publishing set up so our music can be released properly.

Merchandise and promotional tools are another big part of the day-to-day. I constantly research the business side of the industry because that is the other side of the music industry. In this day in age, we as independent artists have the opportunity to promote our brand so it’s important to stay on top of all aspects of the industry.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.yondergrovemusic.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/yondergrove/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/yondergrovemusic
• Youtube: https://youtube.com/channel/UC2J0nIWb71AExOOfFUvlWZg
• Other: https://vimeo.com/634866714

Image Credits
Ross Jaynes, VisualMediaCo.com, Vanessa Medina, Yonder Grove logo and Album artwork by Zach Vannieuwenhuyze-Laclave huyzedesign.com, Samantha White, YG Peace logo by Jake White