Songwriter mulls what's 'really important'

When pop singer Meaghan Smith took a break from recording and paid a breezy visit to Toronto’s popular Eaton Centre in June 2012, she had no idea she’d be caught in the middle of a turf war. A gang shooting in the middle of food court left one dead and six wounded.

“That affected my album. It made me think really hard what’s important, what I’m putting out and what I’m saying,” said Smith now working on her third as yet untitled CD scheduled for release in the spring of 2014.

The 2011 Juno Award Winner for Best New Artist is on a mini western tour and makes her Arden Theatre debut on Friday, Dec. 13 with a spate of Christmas songs from her 2011 It Snowed eight-track.

The shooting brought out symptoms of post-traumatic stress disorder. To channel her feelings and thoughts, Smith started writing chapters and posting them on Facebook. Soon the savvy social media guru – she uses Instagram, Facebook and Twitter – was receiving up to 10,000 hits. The possible spin-off is a book.

But it was her music that received the biggest makeover.

“I used to think singing songs was about communication. Now it’s all about relationships and connections. I put my ideas out there, but I want them to touch you and I want to know it connects with you. My interaction with my fans means so much to me. It’s all about the human connection.”

The accomplished musician was raised in London, Ontario by a piano teacher mother and a bass-playing father. Ironically she opted to study animation and moved to Halifax for work.

Initially shy about singing, she mustered the courage to perform at small clubs and bars. Producer Les Cooper caught one of her concerts. Sharing the same musical sensibilities, they paired up to record her first pop album – The Crickets Orchestra.

It was a huge hit, winning her the Juno. That is no small feat especially considering Smith is dyslexic and finds it impossible to read sheet music.

The original tunes were written in Smith’s vintage organic style.

“At the time I was listening to ’30s-’40s-’50s music. They lacked the big choruses we have today. And there aren’t any in the music I wrote for the first record.”

During the recording process, Smith had no idea the album would catapult her to the national forefront.

“I used to say that if I ever won a Juno, I’d be confident of my music. The next day I was asking if my music was good enough.”

Instead of reassuring her, the accolade pushed Smith to question her musical motivations and set a fresh bar.

“I had no idea it would go this far. I wanted to push myself to the next level. I wanted to make an emotional impact and create strong emotion for myself and in other people.”

This entailed relearning to write powerful songs, elongating the vocal register and finding the perfect balance.

“I had to stretch my voice to sing new songs. There were some days when I was in the studio and I’d ask, ‘Who wrote these impossible notes? Oh, yeah. It was me.’”

During the musical preparation for a meatier CD, fans clamoured for more songs. To appease them, Smith released It Snowed, an eclectic collection of holiday treats that ranges from the traditional Silent Night to the jazzier groove of Zat U Santa Claus.

For any concert, Smith’s focus is delivered on a tripod of sharing, connecting and touching. And the festive Arden concert is just slightly more meaningful.

“This is going to be a special concert for me. It’ll be one of the last times I’m doing it before my next album comes out. Please tell everyone I’m really looking forward to it.”