Terry

Smith
The
Grascals

Good Timing!
Songwriter’s Monthly - June ’11, #137 http://www.scribd.com/SongwritersMonthly
 The Grascals (L-R): Danny Roberts, Jamie Johnson, Kristin Scott
Benson, Jeremy Abshire, Terry Eldredge, and Terry Smith

“Our whole existence has been about 1st birthday! The Grascals previous CD,
timing,” Terry Smith, songwriter and T HE G RASCALS & F RIENDS : C OUNTRY
bass player of the award-winning C LASSICS W ITH A B LUEGRASS S PIN ,
bluegrass group The debuted at #1 on the
Grascals began. “The “Our approach to Billboard Bluegrass
joke is that we were performing is more Album Chart and
all unemployed at held that position for
the same time so we traditional than most seven weeks!
decided to do bluegrass bands,
s o m e t h i n g ,” h e Songwriter’s Monthly
laughed a rich and especially our caught up with Terry
rumbling “heh, heh, rhythm.” fresh off the tour bus
heh” that rolled as he was driving
a l o n g w i t h t h e g r a c e f u l d r i v e down to visit his mom. I promised not
characteristic of one of his trademark to ask questions that might require too
bass lines. much of his concentration and Smith
chuckled, “Oh my gosh, what a story
The Grascals latest release is a that would make: ‘The Grascals Lost
delightful 7-track gem called DANCE During One Of My Interviews!’”
TILL YOUR STOCKINGS ARE HOT AND
RAVELIN’. The EP is a tribute to the “Was the joke about The Grascals’
music of THE ANDY GRIFFITH SHOW from origin based in fact or fiction,” I
BluGrascal Records/Saguaro Road wondered. “Did the band really happen
Records. The physical CD release because you were all unemployed at
follows hot on the heels of Andy’s June the same time?”
Songwriter’s Monthly - June ’11, #137 http://www.scribd.com/SongwritersMonthly
 “There’s a lot of truth in that,” Terry themes also has been important to the
admitted, “a whole lot of truth. A lot of band’s career. Smith commented, “We
us were in between gigs and when we don’t go into a project thinking of a
put The Grascals together it was like, concept, per se, we just try to put
‘Let’s do something, let’s cut a little CD together some traditional songs with
and do a little stuff on the side.’ We some original songs and as the songs
weren’t really sure what we wanted to are coming together, a concept kind of
do.” forms. A lot of times,
“Everything you’ve the songs will begin to
H o w e v e r, a s T h e dictate a theme or a
Grascals were cutting learned becomes concept, as it were,
their first CD, Dolly stepping stones or what the album is
Parton was gearing up going to be. Life’s like
to go on the road. A building blocks to that. As John Lennon
couple of the members where you get to.” said, you’re kind of
had worked with Dolly over here making
in the past and she was interested in plans as life happens.”
hearing their new material.
My thought process skittered a bit. Like
“We only had about 4 or 5 songs at the a pickup truck racing a little too fast
time, but she liked what she heard and along a muddied back road, suddenly I
two or three weeks later, we were on was off-track. All I could think of was
the road as her opening band! That that a dyed-in-the-wool bluegrass
pretty much opened the door for us, traditionalist was quoting Lennon?
right there. So it was about timing, we
could never have planned that.” “ I ’ m a b i g B e a t l e s f a n ,” Te r r y
proclaimed. “Our approach to
Smith confessed that DANCE TILL YOUR performing is more traditional than
S TOCKINGS A RE H OT A ND R AVELIN ’ most bluegrass bands, especially our
began as a completely different project. rhythm. Our rhythm is more like Jimmy
Unfortunately (or fortunately), that first Martin or the Osborne Brothers as
project fell through and this EP came opposed to the newer bluegrass groups,
together just in time for this 50th but we all listen to different styles of
Anniversary celebration. “Andy actually music.”
requested us on the project,” Terry
pointed out. “What an honor, he’s a fan I had a flash of enlightenment and I
of our band! He chose us to be the realized that was why The Grascals
band to do this. We absolutely love the music had such a wide-ranging appeal:
show!” it’s pure bluegrass yet there are pop
elements driving some of the key
So, once again, timing played a key moments in the music such as the
role in furthering The Grascals’ career. soloing or the instrumental breaks.
Without editing my thoughts, I blurted
Creating great records with great that revelation out to Smith.
Songwriter’s Monthly - June ’11, #137 http://www.scribd.com/SongwritersMonthly
 “Well, I’ve never been so insulted!” he
replied (jokingly).
I quickly backpedaled, “It’s a merging
of old and new . . . but in a new way?”
Terry started laughing. “That’s very
much a compliment. We just do what
we’ve heard. Everything you’ve learned
becomes stepping stones or building
blocks to where you get to. All of our
influences come together and that’s
what comes out . . . and that’s the way
it’s supposed to be.”
Besides Terry, there are two other
writers in the band: Danny Roberts and
Jamie Johnson. I inquired about how
the trio approaches creating a song.
“We just sit there and come up with the
lines,” Smith explained. “If the majority
of us say, ‘We like that line,’ that’s the
line we use. So far it’s worked. There’s
a lot of ego in any band and it’s hard
not to bruise it here and there, but so
Songwriter’s Monthly - June ’11, #137
far we’ve been able to write as a
democracy and remain friends. I know
“As John Lennon
said, you’re kind of
over here making
plans as life
happens.”
in a lot of cases, that doesn’t work, you
need somebody saying, ‘This is what we
are going to do.’ But, so far, it’s worked
as a democracy for
us . . . and it’s been
seven years.”
There’s a bond that
comes across in the
tightness and instinctive
playing style of The
Grascals. It transcends
musicianship and
settles somewhere in
the area of true
camaraderie. If the
members weren’t so
close, the music would
not have the magic that
it most certainly
contains.
“I think there’s a lot to that,” Smith
agreed. “Terry Eldredge and I worked
with the Osborne Brothers for 12 years,
so we’re close. And Jamie Johnson
actually roomed with Terry for a while,
so there is a closeness there, too. We
really are very fond of each other and
we’ve been in different bands together
and in different situations as sidemen.
You’re right, there is a closeness there.
I know Terry like the back of my hand,
http://www.scribd.com/SongwritersMonthly
 as they say, so I know what he’s going feel better about the dogs — he had
to do and he knows what I’m going to taken them and let them go in a field
do. It’s like that with Jamie and the and a storm was coming up — so he
other guys and the gal, too. We get says dogs are down close to the ground
along very well.” where the lightning won’t hit them.
Then, he tells Opie that giraffes are up
Before concluding the interview, I asked high in the air so it would be dangerous
Terry if he could for them, but not
talk in detail about for the dogs.
the bonus track, Finally, he said
“Boy, Giraffes Are that dogs look
Selfish.” after their own,
but giraffes don’t
“We were ap- and that’s when
proached to write he looks up and
a song about an says, ‘Boy Giraffes
episode of THE a r e s e l f i s h .’ S o
ANDY GRIFFITH that’s where the
S HOW . The song song came from.
we wrote comes That was the line
from the episode that tied every-
called “Dogs, thing else
Dogs, Dogs” — it’s together.”
the one where
http://click.linksynergy.com/fs-
b i n / s t a t ?
id=hyTjEIK1pMo&offerid=146261&
type=3&subid=0&tmpid=1826&RD

Opie finds a little Smith added, “If

_PARM1=http%253A%252F
%252Fitunes.apple.com%252Fus
%252Falbum%252Fdance-til-your-
s t o c k i n g s - a r e

dog and wants to you’re a fan of THE

%252Fid425608630%253Fuo
%253D4%2526partnerId%253D30

keep him and somehow all these other
dogs show up. We were trying to figure
out how to approach this — we didn’t
know if we should just tell the story of
the episode or not. Danny wrote down
a couple of random lines that were said
on that episode. One of the lines was
when Barney was trying to make Opie
ANDY GRIFFITH SHOW, you’ll totally get
this song. If you’re not . . . you’ll think
that we’ve lost our minds! It won’t
make a bit of sense. We’re all such
huge fans of THE ANDY GRIFFITH SHOW,
it’s our favorite sitcom of all time! Any
time we can do anything to be involved
with it, we will.”

If you’d like a bonus treat, you can check out The Grascal’s special Happy
Birthday message to Andy at:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tsjlAGrZwVg&feature=player_embedded
And, to keep the good times going, there are several videos from DANCE TILL
YOUR STOCKINGS ARE HOT AND RAVELIN’ at:
http://www.youtube.com/view_play_list?p=AA059ADF72912EA5
Finally, don’t forget to stay in touch with The Grascals at:
www.grascals.com

Songwriter’s Monthly - June ’11, #137 http://www.scribd.com/SongwritersMonthly