Tyler Michael Smith Talks About Having Famous Father and His Belief in Angels (Interview)
The special one-night event, "Come to the Garden – On Stage!", which emphasizes the importance of heavenly beings, is being brought to the big screen by Fathom Events and Eakin Films on May 3. The son of three-time Grammy Award winner Michael W. Smith, Tyler Michael Smith, opened up to The Christian Post about his involvement in the project, his belief in angels and the impact his father has made on his life.
"I obviously grew up in a musical home. My dad being Michael W. Smith, he's been doing music since before I was born, so I was definitely born into it. It was always just a normal part of my life," Smith told CP.
Starting as early as age 5 with piano lessons, the successful composer has made music for a variety of different companies including Sony Pictures, Carmike Cinemas, Coca-Cola, and Cinemacon. He credits his love for making music to his father.
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"As much as he was always busy traveling, I feel like he always did a good job keeping us involved with his life. He would actually take us on the road at times and I've actually toured with him as a keyboard player as well, so I've been able to be with him while he's traveling and see that side of him. He's always just been my dad and I never thought of it as an unusual thing that he was well-known," the younger Smith, who is himself a father of two, said of his own dad. "His music has always impacted me. It's definitely one of the main reasons that I'm doing what I'm doing. It was a blessing to grow up in his house, definitely."
Smith's involvement with the elaborate "Come To The Garden" production was because of director Tim Carpenter, who he had worked with in the past. The show is about a Texas homemaker-turned-lay minister and author Jennifer Wilder Morgan and her own supernatural experiences with angels. The show is based on Morgan's debut novel, of the same name, and invites the audience to join the author as she takes the stage with animated characters and scenery from the book and features character voiceovers from Kathie Lee Gifford and Louis Gossett, Jr.
After hearing about the project, Smith divulged that he was very intrigued by the unique story and decided to jump on board. He confessed that he "absolutely" believes in angels.
"If it's in the Bible I believe it for sure. I think they play many different roles. If you look in scripture it's clear that they minister to us, I believe whether we see them or not," he said. "I do believe that they appear to people. I've never had an angelic encounter before but I've had friends and heard stories of others that have. And I believe that they still occur today but there's probably so much that we don't know about them and that we won't know until we're in Heaven, so it's kind of a mystery as well."
The Tennessee native maintained that he believes Morgan's dramatized story will interest and fascinate many, and cause them to ask questions and think about the supernatural.
When asked what his process is like when choosing which films to create musical scores for or songs to produce, Smith explains: "I absolutely have a standard, I mainly let God give me the peace I need before I start the project. If there's content that's offensive to me and convicts my conscience, my first reaction is to not do it. If I have a question about a project I always pray and ask the Lord about it and if I feel like he gives me peace about it, I'll go through with the project."
He added, "There's been times that I've had to turn down projects in the past but He's always provided when I do that so I never worry about it too much."
Smith and his famous father have both made great careers for themselves in the music industry but for some it can be very difficult to earn a living in the music industry. The young producer says the secret to sustaining a career in entertainment is trying new things and not being confined to one particular title.
"I'm still trying to figure out what works especially when you're just starting out," he said of his career. "Usually a composer is not just a composer, they're a teacher, will travel sometimes and play – I'm a traveling keyboardist as well and I'm also a producer. There's a lot of different roles I play to make it work and it's the same thing with my dad, he's actually started to act a little bit."
In addition to scoring films, Smith has toured worldwide as a keyboard player and been a session piano player for several different artists across various genres.
"My job is to help the audience know how to feel. 'Come to the Garden' is mainly very ethereal and beautiful but there are some dark moments. I had to create tension to allow the audience to feel what she was feeling. Everything is different and every film is different. I've actually composed music for a thriller before, a lot of intense unsettling kind of music. I enjoy trying to find the right sound for each scene," he concluded.
Smith says he has a few projects on the horizon but also understands that in his field, you never really know what's to come. For more information and to listen to some of his music visit: www.soundcloud.com/tylermichaelsmith
