Working on his 2nd CD " Long Way Home", to be released July 2009, and getting ready to tour, busy singer / songwriter / actor - Riley Smith, was able to have an email interview with One2One Pro Media. Based out of L.A, Calfornia, 31 year old, Riley is a long way from home. Born in Cedar Falls, Iowa, Riley was scouted to compete at the International Modeling and Talent Association (IMTA) convention in New York. He picked up a campaign to model for Tommy Hilfiger. Deciding to stay in New York, he turned down a basketball scholarship, and enrolled in an acting class.
However, this article isn't about his feats as an actor, but his band's (The Life Of Riley) talent of singing/songwriting
Growing up on his family's quarter horse ranch, Riley remembers being as young as 4 years old and singing all day long. At the end of the night, performing for his family. Music was put on the back burner as he got older, and busier and it was only after many hours of downtime on a set that Riley decided to do something with his creativeity and started writing.
Getting together with Henri (Hank) O'Connor, a few years back set the wheels in motion for the beginning of the band The Life Of Riley. Both men, realising that there was an amazing music chemistry the band was formed and the rest is History in the making.
It comes as no surprise to find out that The Life Of Riley has been booked to play at New York's famous "Living Room" on July 24th. The Living Room, a highly sought-after gig for performers and a favorite spot for fans to discover new talent and see old favorites. With their Americana / Rock combination, I'm convinced that these 4 talented musicians are on the road to success.
During my reading of Riley's answers to my questions, I realised that he is such a down to earth man. Doing what he loves. I had to smile during my read, Riley is such a candid person and had such great answers!
O2O: How would you describe yourself in three words and why those three?
R.S : Determined, Thankful and Loyal.
I've always set really high goals for myself and have been really hard on myself to make them a reality. Which leads me to my second word... Thankful. Even though I don't always reach every goal, every time, I'm very thankful for what I do have and the things I have accomplished. And Last, but certainly not least, Loyal. I've been in the biz for a long time now and loyalty is a quality that you dont find a lot in Hollywood, so I pride myself now on always being loyal to the people that stand by me. From Family and friends, to fans..
O2O: Do you believe in fate or do you prefer feeling in control of your own destiny?
R.S :It's Funny you ask this because we have a new song on our next album called DESTINY... So I guess you could say this question was fate. ha.
Honestly, I think it's an even combo. You have to take control of who you are, where you want to go and how hard you are willing to work to get there. But there is also a lot of fate that plays into the hand your dealt. There has been a lot of times that my work and dedication didn't pay off on the particular thing I wanted at the moment, but the minute that door closed another door that I never saw coming opened up. Thats Fate.
R.S : Determined, Thankful and Loyal.
I've always set really high goals for myself and have been really hard on myself to make them a reality. Which leads me to my second word... Thankful. Even though I don't always reach every goal, every time, I'm very thankful for what I do have and the things I have accomplished. And Last, but certainly not least, Loyal. I've been in the biz for a long time now and loyalty is a quality that you dont find a lot in Hollywood, so I pride myself now on always being loyal to the people that stand by me. From Family and friends, to fans..
O2O: Do you believe in fate or do you prefer feeling in control of your own destiny?
R.S :It's Funny you ask this because we have a new song on our next album called DESTINY... So I guess you could say this question was fate. ha.
Honestly, I think it's an even combo. You have to take control of who you are, where you want to go and how hard you are willing to work to get there. But there is also a lot of fate that plays into the hand your dealt. There has been a lot of times that my work and dedication didn't pay off on the particular thing I wanted at the moment, but the minute that door closed another door that I never saw coming opened up. Thats Fate.
O2O: How did you come upon music?
R.S I remember sitting in my room at 4 years old playing three different records and singing along all day. Michael Jackson, Lionel Richie and Alabama. So as you can see, my taste has always been very broad. I would always put on shows for my family every night after dinner. I'd practice a set all day and then make everyone watch. It's funny now to look back on some of those vhs tapes. I never stopped singing, but once I started acting, singing took a back seat. Until finally one day on set in Vancouver I got fed up with wasting the countless hours of downtime we have on movie sets by playing playstation.I wanted to do something more creative with my time. So I went to a hand me down store and bought an old guitar. A fellow actor who knew a few chords showed me the basics. By the end of that movie I had written my first song, "Vancouver". I'd say more than half of our first album was written on the back of scripts on movie sets. After a year or so, I decided I wanted to record them. I didn't really have any big intentions with the music but once I was introduced to Hank (the co founder of the band and guitarist) things just took off. We mixed our talents together well. On our first writing session, I brought him an idea for a song I had written on my last movie. He tweeked some of it and an hour later we had Forget About Me. All of a sudden we knew we had something pretty cool together that we wanted to pursue.
R.S I remember sitting in my room at 4 years old playing three different records and singing along all day. Michael Jackson, Lionel Richie and Alabama. So as you can see, my taste has always been very broad. I would always put on shows for my family every night after dinner. I'd practice a set all day and then make everyone watch. It's funny now to look back on some of those vhs tapes. I never stopped singing, but once I started acting, singing took a back seat. Until finally one day on set in Vancouver I got fed up with wasting the countless hours of downtime we have on movie sets by playing playstation.I wanted to do something more creative with my time. So I went to a hand me down store and bought an old guitar. A fellow actor who knew a few chords showed me the basics. By the end of that movie I had written my first song, "Vancouver". I'd say more than half of our first album was written on the back of scripts on movie sets. After a year or so, I decided I wanted to record them. I didn't really have any big intentions with the music but once I was introduced to Hank (the co founder of the band and guitarist) things just took off. We mixed our talents together well. On our first writing session, I brought him an idea for a song I had written on my last movie. He tweeked some of it and an hour later we had Forget About Me. All of a sudden we knew we had something pretty cool together that we wanted to pursue.
O2O: How have you changed or evolved as a musician since this all started?
R.SA LOT! I was starting from the ground up with a band that had a lot of experience. I know there was a lot of stressful rehearsals and the band has always been so patient with me. But I went from learning how to play guitar to playing and singing live with an entire band in less than a year or so. It went from a hobby to another great challenge and goal that I wanted to reach. There was a point where Hank looked at me and said, if we are going to do this then we are going to do this right! So there has been a lot of hours of work and even more hours of play that have gone into our project. Hank and Jonah (our drummer) have become like brothers to me. We spend so many hours together writing, recording and on the road playing.
O2O: How do you deal with discouragement and disappointment?
R.S I'm human. It hurts. But as an actor I deal with it a lot more than most people and on a more public stage. So I learned very fast to have thick skin. To have confidence in who I am and to not get caught up comparing myself to anyone else. I take the time I need to grieve about something but I try to learn from it, correct anything I could have done better and move forward. There is always another chance to succeed but if you keep your head in the sand you might miss it.
O2O: How do you define success?
R.S Happiness. Finishing something you started. Doing it all with integrity and humility. My dad gave me a card when I was around 8 years old and on it were 5 words. Honesty, Self discipline, Desire, Pride and Determination. With it was a note that explained to me that these were the keys to real success and if I followed them, I'd be happy. I have never taken that card out of my wallet and carry it with me everyday. They define success to me.
O2O: How do you balance both your acting career and your music career?
R.S Its been great so far. When I'm doing a movie or show I have a lot of down time on sets, so that's when I do my writing. And when I'm not acting we record and tour. So far so good!
O2O: Do you sometimes feel as though you need to choose between the 2?
R.S Never. Acting is how I make my living. Music is how I express my thoughts artistically.
O2O: Do you still ride? Or own horses?
R.S I have done a few movies where I ride and my background with horses has come in very handy. In fact my next film that I start soon I will be playing a Texas rancher, and the character has a lot of riding scenes, so I'm really excited about that. I don't own a horse right now because I just don't have the time. But I have some friends with horses here in LA, so whenever I do have spare time I'll run over and ride. Someday I'll have the ranch and horses again:)
O2O: Are you still hoping for a release date of July 1st for your CD? What is it called?
R.S As of now its on schedule! It sounds great. A little different than the first cd, but I think everyone will like where we are headed with the sound.
O2O:Can you buy it in stores? If so, which ones? (Best Buy, Hastings, etc)
R.S We are working on distribution now. Of course it will be available on
I-Tunes,cd baby, and our online store.
O2O: Will you be selling any autographed copies from your website?
R.S Thats a great idea! Now that you mention it.... YES;)
I know I'll be waiting on this internet when his new CD is released- to be picking myself up a copy.
R.SA LOT! I was starting from the ground up with a band that had a lot of experience. I know there was a lot of stressful rehearsals and the band has always been so patient with me. But I went from learning how to play guitar to playing and singing live with an entire band in less than a year or so. It went from a hobby to another great challenge and goal that I wanted to reach. There was a point where Hank looked at me and said, if we are going to do this then we are going to do this right! So there has been a lot of hours of work and even more hours of play that have gone into our project. Hank and Jonah (our drummer) have become like brothers to me. We spend so many hours together writing, recording and on the road playing.
O2O: How do you deal with discouragement and disappointment?
R.S I'm human. It hurts. But as an actor I deal with it a lot more than most people and on a more public stage. So I learned very fast to have thick skin. To have confidence in who I am and to not get caught up comparing myself to anyone else. I take the time I need to grieve about something but I try to learn from it, correct anything I could have done better and move forward. There is always another chance to succeed but if you keep your head in the sand you might miss it.
O2O: How do you define success?
R.S Happiness. Finishing something you started. Doing it all with integrity and humility. My dad gave me a card when I was around 8 years old and on it were 5 words. Honesty, Self discipline, Desire, Pride and Determination. With it was a note that explained to me that these were the keys to real success and if I followed them, I'd be happy. I have never taken that card out of my wallet and carry it with me everyday. They define success to me.
O2O: How do you balance both your acting career and your music career?
R.S Its been great so far. When I'm doing a movie or show I have a lot of down time on sets, so that's when I do my writing. And when I'm not acting we record and tour. So far so good!
O2O: Do you sometimes feel as though you need to choose between the 2?
R.S Never. Acting is how I make my living. Music is how I express my thoughts artistically.
O2O: Do you still ride? Or own horses?
R.S I have done a few movies where I ride and my background with horses has come in very handy. In fact my next film that I start soon I will be playing a Texas rancher, and the character has a lot of riding scenes, so I'm really excited about that. I don't own a horse right now because I just don't have the time. But I have some friends with horses here in LA, so whenever I do have spare time I'll run over and ride. Someday I'll have the ranch and horses again:)
O2O: Are you still hoping for a release date of July 1st for your CD? What is it called?
R.S As of now its on schedule! It sounds great. A little different than the first cd, but I think everyone will like where we are headed with the sound.
O2O:Can you buy it in stores? If so, which ones? (Best Buy, Hastings, etc)
R.S We are working on distribution now. Of course it will be available on
I-Tunes,cd baby, and our online store.
O2O: Will you be selling any autographed copies from your website?
R.S Thats a great idea! Now that you mention it.... YES;)
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