There was some talk around town and on the internet that Granger Smith’s mainstream debut Remington was titled after the gun manufacturer as some sort of “sketchy” or underhanded marketing ploy or sly backroom deal. The truth couldn’t be further from that conjecture.
“Well, the title goes back to our earlier issues with our album titles being a little bit forgettable at times, or words are mixed up at times, says Granger Smith. “And, so, it’s hard to blame anyone for this but we had an album a while back called ‘Poets & Prisoners’ and it was hard for people to say it or remember it so we came to the conclusion that simple titles work for new artists and once they’ve been established a little bit, maybe they can get a little more artistic with the naming of their albums…that’s the backstory.”
So that backstory got Granger and his brother Tyler thinking about the first Wheelhouse Records album and how they needed to simplify their album titles and that’’s where Granger described the creation of the song itself, picking up the conversation…
“The front story, the idea behind “Remington,” there’s this gun I have, a Remington 870 Wingmaster, that is older than I am and it came from my dad and I was thinking about it, after I lost (him). It has this legacy and story to it. It’s not the shiniest, coolest gun on the rack but it has good stock and you can trust it and it’s pretty accurate and I was thinking that it was maybe a little bit like me in that I’m not the newest, shiniest person around but you can trust me. Then I brought it to Frank Rogers and he thought it was a love song. As it started making sense, through the lyrics, it felt like a title track. Not just for the song but for the album, as we were going for the simple thing and classic feel about it.
So when they decided on the title for the album they talked with the label and were even considering just “Granger Smith” for a title but felt that “Remingtion” was still a better option, including using a logo. Broken Bow Music Group’s attorney liked the title but they wanted to clear it with the company first. “Remington said ‘cool, we like it,” says Granger. “But we wanted to use the classic logo but they required us to use the modern logo and that we had to put the trademark (®) with it.”
The more they talked about the title, including going with the generic self-titled route, Granger and his team just decided to stick with Remington.
And that’s it, there’s nothing more to the title other than it’s a personal connection to a hunting rifle that means the world to Granger Smith and that a short title — often one word — is easier for people to say and remember when discovering new (or new to them) artists. There was no underhanded back room deals or anything of the sort. Instead, there was none of that and, to that end, neither Granger or his younger brother and manager Tyler, even have the contact info for the Remington team anymore.
Granger Smith's Remington is out on March 4, 2016 via Wheelhouse Records and features 15 tracks, including the hit single "Backroad Song."
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