In 2014, Brent Smith and Zach Myers, one-half of the chart-topping multiplatinum rock band, Shinedown, got together for an acoustic project where fans chose ten songs for them to cover and post on social media. The concept was met with overwhelming success and the duo’s subsequent intimate, capacity-filled tour, was equally well-received.

Now Smith & Myers have unveiled the first two tracks from their forthcoming album, Smith & Myers Volume 1. The first, a poignant and poetically relevant original, “Not Mad Enough,” written shortly after the tragic death of George Floyd but an appropriate song for a multitude of different circumstances. The second track is the pair’s infectious and haunting take on Neil Young’s “Rockin’ In A Free World.”

Both tracks will be featured on Smith & Myers Volume 1, which will be released on October 9.

In addition to Smith and Myers celebrating the release of this new music, Shinedown’s recent “Atlas Falls” campaign to raise funds in the fight against Covid-19 has generated more than $400,000 for Direct Relief. An organization whose sole mission is to ensure that the scientific community has everything they need in times of crisis to save as many lives as possible. Fans who purchase a t-shirt for the cause are given the previously unreleased song, “Atlas Falls,” as an added bonus. The band’s song recently reached #1 on the Billboard Mainstream Rock Chart. Breaking the record for most #1’s ever in the chart’s 39-year history.

I recently spoke with Brent Smith and Zach Myers about the new songs from Smith & Myers and more in this exclusive new interview.

How did this Smith & Myers album project come about?

Zach Myers: The album idea came about when Brent said in an interview, in front of the world, that we were going to make a double album, with no discussion with the two people in the band [laughs]. He put the idea out into the atmosphere and we knew we had to follow up on the promise.

Brent Smith: What I’ve witnessed in the last twenty years is that if you have an idea you really believe in you have to start talking about it. Otherwise people will think you’re not serious or will forget about it completely. It if means something you have to express it to make it become a reality. I didn’t want the project to fall by the wayside. It was an ambitious move.

The original track, “Not Mad Enough” is very relevant for these uncertain times. How did it come about?

BS: When “Not Mad Enough” was written it was the week that George Floyd lost his life. Like a lot of the world I watched a man lose his life on national television. It was scary, devastating, tragic and beyond sad. The song wrote itself. It’s interesting listening to it now because the principle is that it’s not just about George Floyd. It’s about everything that’s going on in the world right now. It’s about the human spirit and how us, as a society, face multiple subject matters and opinions every day. But the goal is we’re supposed to be working together and not fighting each other. Do I think the song is relevant and important? Yes, I do. But I’m also very vocal because, truthfully, I wish the song had never been written because I wish George Floyd was still alive. In a lot of ways I think me and Zach were a vessel for this song. We stand with the human spirit and all of society and want to figure out a way to have a future and come up with solutions to problems and not just have defiance and disregard for each other. It’s a very important song.

Read the rest of my
Interview with Brent Smith & Zach Myers By Clicking Here.