What it's like on the road...

Road life is pretty interesting. I mean, boring. But yet exhilerating. Exhausting, but adrenaline charged. A lot of sitting around. A lot of heat-exhausted, worn-out people everywhere running around aimlessly. A friend of mine compared touring to camping - but the boring parts, where you're just sitting around wondering when you're going to get your next shower. People look at the mammoth tour buses with eyes of wonder. Wow...how amazing must it be inside! Yes, it's pretty cool. Actually, it's great to have somewhere to escape to that has air conditioning! There's a front and back lounge, each with TV, DVD, satellite, etc., a little kitchen, an even littler (and stinkier) airplane-ish bathroom, and twelve coffin-like bunks (six on each side, stacked three deep). The bunks have TV/DVD players in them, but I prefer throwing on the iPod and listening to something soothing like Amos Lee, Teitur, Jamie Cullum, etc.

Once you leave the bus, everyone is always checking you out, wondering if you're someone famous that they should know. Every time I get a ride from a driver to go to the hotel (we get a "day room" to shower in) they ask me who I am, or what band I'm with. I'm tempted to lie, but usually just tell them I'm just me and that they never have heard of me. I try to be patient with people who just seem to want a piece of someone famous, probably so they can tell people later something like, "You won't believe who I drove to the hotel today!"

Yes, Mr. Louisville, you drove Mark Smeby to the hotel. That's SMEEEE-bee. Like Phoebe, you know, from "Friends"? I do pop music and not even your cool teenager knows who I am. But that's ok with me. Why? Because I'm surrounded by family and people back home in Franklin who know me and love me, regardless of how famous or unfamous I am. They know all my strengths and all my weaknesses, and help remind me of the truth about myself when I lose sight of it in the midst of both the applause and humiliation that come with life on the road. To be honest, they actually prefer it when I'm not on the road. Part of me feels the same way.

What is "Superfamous" about?

Thanks everybody, first of all, for being so dang nice. It's so cool to connect with people all over the world and share life together. WOW! Secondly, thanks for all the amazing comments about the music. It's very encouraging and inspiring. Sometimes we have no idea at all how much power a simple word can be, spoken at just the right time. Be BRAVE people...tell someone you care about that you actually care about them! It might be just what they've been waiting to hear!

OK - about the tune. What a blast we had recording this song. I really wanted to have a fun, sarcastic tune about how it seems like EVERYBODY wants to be famous these days. Just turn on the tv and watch any reality show if you don't think so. Or go to a club and see how everyone is trying to look like someone famous. Or try living in Nashville and go ANYWHERE!!!

Someone asked me, "Are you being serious in this song?" Yes and no. Do I JUST want to be famous...no, not JUST. I would absolutely love to be able to have everyone in the world hear my music and maybe make them smile after a hard day, or make somebody feel like they can really start living their life, instead of just settling for getting by. So, yes, it'd be a blast to have an audience that enjoys what I do. But, I say "no" to the part of the extreme where it seems like people are willing to do anything to get people to like them. I don't want to do that.

I also don't want to take advantage of people based on any sort of position I might have. Not an easy task, especially when you're tired or lonely! HAH! So, there's a short answer for you. Somebody did tell me once, "You're just doing music cause you want to be famous..." I shrugged my shoulders, laughed, and wrote a song about it...

You want to be famous?

No, I'm not starting a reality show. I'm not auditioning people for anything. But I am curious what you think makes people want to be famous. I wonder if it's because we all are bombarded every day by images and messages that make us feel insignificant, and really we are longing for significance. We want to be remembered! And boy, how can you forget the really famous people!

If someone was to ask me who were the people that have impacted my life the most, I probably won't say a certain actor or actress, though many brought me joy through their work. I probably will say people like Willo Boe or Milt Heinrich, teachers that taught me to believe in myself and to keep exploring for a more creative option than the one I might want to settle for. I probably will mention my Grandma Bob, who believed in me more than anyone and showed me how to give away your life for the benefit of others.

It seems like our society is so full of people who want to be famous, as if that's some sort of Knightly tap on the shoulder, pronouncing our worth. I hope that someone that crosses my path is able to say something like, "I chose to stop settling, and start living life because of Mark," or "I see a little more clearly and more vividly the blessings I'm surrounded by because of Mark." Whoa...

I'd love to win an Oscar, or a Grammy, or a Brit, that would be a kick in the pants. But to go to sleep at night knowing I'm famous isn't enough. Loving well the people in my life, and letting them love me -- aaahhh...that's success in my book.

Unleash Your Inner Wannabe!

Why? For too long the word wannabe has had a really negative connotation. I believe it's time to reclaim the word for something positive. Perhaps even for yourself! This word is for you if you don't want to settle for just getting by. It's for you if you don't want to be just like everybody else. It's for you if you want to make a difference in the lives of people around you, and perhaps all over the world.

You're a Wannabe if you are someone who is willing to take risks and step into the unknown, in order to reach out and really live this life. This is your one shot. How are you going to live it?

So, what or who do you really wanna be? And why? I want to hear your story...

Belonging

One of my deepest desires has always been to feel a sense of belonging--to be able to call someplace or some group of people my own. Ideally, a nuclear family is the first place a person can begin to understand what it means to belong. We all live in this house, have the same phone number, share some genes, go places together, etc. Oh yeah, and we love each other. Even though we might disagree, or not like certain things about each other, we're not going anywhere.

Still, I know what it feels like to be disconnected and long for connection. I know what it's like to be someplace and wish that someone would reach out to me and make me feel included.

For me, the first step is understanding the value of connection with other people. It's like dropping anchor in a wild storm. It's like hanging out in a bar where everyone knows your name. It's about being uniquely interlocked with others who know that they need other people, perhaps as much as they themselves are needed. This awakens my desire to belong--basically, my discontent with disconnectedness.

Most people (myself at the top of the list), will scratch the surface in several areas of our lives, and wonder why we don't feel a sense of connectedness, or belonging. Personally, my sense of belonging doesn't come solely from other people making me feel like I belong, but it starts with me choosing to belong. I choose to belong to this church, these people, these groups, etc.

Next, I began to take steps to invest in what was going on around me by sharing my gifts and my personality with consistence. And perhaps most importantly, (and most frightening!) I had to start allowing others to know my thoughts, feelings and needs.

But between you and me, my default mode is isolation. I love to disconnect from other people. Sometimes, it’s just a whole lot easier (and less messy). But if it’s indeed a full and meaningful life I’m looking for, connecting with other people and belonging somewhere is a great way for me to find it.