Default Singer Moves On From Ex With New Album

Posted on Oct 21st 2009 11:00AM by Karen Bliss Comments

Default frontman Dallas Smith has long been divorced and has a new girlfriend, but he still used songwriting to work through a lot of the changes in his personal life. Some can be heard on the lyrics to the rock band's new album, 'Comes and Goes,' but they're not all autobiographical.

"'Little Too Late' is more just a story," Smith says. "I'm actually a little concerned about putting it on the record, because I have ones that are pretty personal on there ... I didn't want anyone to think that 'Little Too Late' was about my ex, because it's definitely not."

Smith got divorced about two years before Default started touring on the third album, 2005's 'One Thing Remains.' "But when he started writing for this album, he had already started dating the girl who now lives with him. So there's a lot of the ex, you're an a--hole, and there are a couple of songs that are geared towards my new girlfriend, and those are more of the positive ones," he laughs. "'Supposed To Be' is based on experience with her, and 'Show Me' is based on upon her."

'Comes and Goes' -- available on EMI Music Canada and through the band's website, www.defaultonline.com until a worldwide deal is signed -- was produced, engineered, mixed and co-written by Bob Marlette (Alice Cooper, Ozzy Osbourne, Saliva, Seether), who did 'One Thing Remains.' Default also collaborated with songwriters Marti Frederiksen [Mötley Crüe, Aerosmith] on five songs, Richard Marx on one song and Zac Maloy (formerly of the Nixons) on four.

Smith says his bandmates, guitarist Jeremy Hora, bassist Dave Benedict and drummer Danny Craig, usually get the music beds down. And then once they are all happy with those, he will finish them off with a co-writer, melody and lyrics.

"When we first decided to work with Bob again, he came up [to Vancouver] and started in the very early process of writing the tracks. That was a little bit different with Bob, as opposed to bringing songs down to him [in California] that were nearly finished," explains Smith. "Then we worked with Marti again, and we worked with Zac, who was actually the first guy we wrote with."

The album was recorded at Marlette's studio in Woodland Hills, Calif., and even though the album had been in the can since December 2007, the band never felt the need to go back and change anything.

"I really think Bob did a great job," says Smith. "The last record, I think I did the vocals and harmonies in a day and a half. And on this record, I did them in just about over two weeks. So we really made sure that we liked everything. We re-wrote some choruses in the studio an hour before we'd sing them just to make sure that everything that I was doing was working, and that I was happy with, and everybody was happy with. "

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