{"id":8402,"date":"2019-01-24T07:00:04","date_gmt":"2019-01-24T13:00:04","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/bestofswla.com\/?p=8402"},"modified":"2019-01-20T12:59:47","modified_gmt":"2019-01-20T18:59:47","slug":"hey-mickey","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/bestofswla.com\/2019\/01\/24\/hey-mickey\/","title":{"rendered":"Hey Mickey!"},"content":{"rendered":"

Mickey Smith, Jr.: Grammy Nominated Sax Mam, Music Teacher, & Children’s Book Author<\/strong><\/p>\n

Story By Justin Morris \u00a0\u2022 \u00a0Photos By Elizabeth Medwick<\/em><\/p>\n

You know, I didn\u2019t come from an explicitly musical family. I was inspired by the music my parents enjoyed and pursued it ravenously as I got older. I chased all of those musical endeavors that a young man could chase via the offerings of the Calcasieu Parish School System in the mid to late 1990s. As I got older, I started to gravitate towards the musicians around me. One stood out when I was a young man of 16.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

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Photo By Elizabeth Medwick<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

 <\/p>\n

He was a co-worker at the first job I ever had. We\u2019d make and bag hamburgers on the clock, and I would listen to him sit and play his saxophone (a favorite instrument of mine as a child) on our breaks.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

It just knocked me out to listen to him play. All these years later, I\u2019m still not as good in any musical capacity as he was back then. He has not only gotten better, but has also become a prominent name on the local music scene; returned to his school band roots to serve as the band director of Maplewood Middle School; written and illustrated his own book; and gotten the attention of the Grammy Awards twice.<\/p>\n

Mickey Smith, Jr., is probably best known throughout the area as the charming and talented fella behind the Sax in The City concerts, now a decade strong. He spent a good deal of time last year revisiting some of his earliest artistic roots and breaking some completely new ground on the way.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

The Adventures of Little Mickey: Keep on Going is the musician and educator\u2019s first foray into the literary world. The story of his own musical journey is meant to help motivate and inspire young and old alike.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

I was lucky enough to chat with my old buddy about where the idea of a children\u2019s book came from and what led him to share that particular story.<\/p>\n

SMITH:<\/b> Well, it\u2019s a result of what I do in the classroom. Everybody loves band at first until they realize it\u2019s a lot of practice and work. What I find happens is that there\u2019s a lot of enthusiasm and motivation at the beginning, but ultimately, it\u2019s your habits that keep you going and make you successful. So, I try to paint a picture for them that shows\u2026 that nobody\u2019s just great at anything at first, even \u201cMr. Smith.\u201d\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

Photo By Elizabeth Medwick<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

 <\/p>\n

I started out with the squeaks and the squawks and the frustration. I\u2019m just trying to show them I\u2019m a real person, and I tell them the story about how, when I started, my first sounds were amazingly terrible, and my mom encouraged me with these simple words: \u201cSon, I see something special in you. I don\u2019t know exactly what it is, but I know if you keep on going, you\u2019ll be successful.\u201d<\/p>\n

And the kids are like, \u201coh, that\u2019s nice …\u201d Except the fact that my mom actually opened up the front door and she told me to keep on going; meaning, it sounded so bad, you\u2019ve got to take that noise outside. (Laughs.) You got to keep on going. (Laughs.) It kind of brings a little levity to it.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

They laugh, they think that they kind of get it. They get a picture of, \u201cOkay, his first sounds were not the best sounds.\u201d As I continue telling that story, it goes with me being in the driveway and my mom telling me again, \u201ckeep on going,\u201d and then I go down the driveway, and she tells me \u201ckeep on going\u201d until eventually [I] ended up in the woods across the street, and that\u2019s where I would practice.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

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Photo By Elizabeth Medwick<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

 <\/p>\n

I remind the kids that your first sounds may not elicit the response you\u2019re expecting, but if you keep on going [you\u2019ll advance]. For me, the woods were a place of elevation and isolation, but now [my continued work has] put me in a position where there\u2019s celebration, but it happened because I didn\u2019t give up. I didn\u2019t quit. And eventually the very door that I was sent out [of] was the door that was opened back up to me, and my parents invited me, and they said, \u201ccome on in.\u201d And I tell the kids that meant so much to me because with everything that I\u2019ve been recognized for, that open door means as much to me as anything that I\u2019ve ever experienced. Because my parents were saying, \u201cWe love you, we see you, and we value you.\u201d<\/p>\n

I tell you that whole story because \u2026 here\u2019s the part that\u2019s crazy for me. A lot of these kids are now grown. They\u2019re in their twenties, or whatever. And I\u2019ll go places, and they still remember the story. These kids come up and they\u2019re like, \u201cMr. Smith, can you, can you tell my friend and I that story?\u201d\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Man, I think back on middle school and, I don\u2019t know how you were, but I don\u2019t remember a whole lot vividly. So when a kid remembers something from 11 years old \u2026 that is of significance and value. So, it just got to the point where enough of these kids were coming back as adults telling me how much the story meant to them that I said, \u201cYou know what, this needs to be captured. I need to share this in a powerful way with others.\u201d<\/p>\n

So, Mickey set to the task of doing just that. Given that the sharing of this story happened in the classroom, a children\u2019s book seemed a great avenue to help stir up some old creativity in Mickey.<\/p>\n

SMITH:<\/b> What a lot of folks don\u2019t know about me is before music, I was a visual artist. That was the first passion. But I just kind of fell in love with music, man \u2026 actually, right about the time that you and I met. So this book provided me a beautiful opportunity to come back to something that I had stepped away from, and that was the illustrations. So that really came from a special place.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Now for me, I\u2019ll be able to share something that a lot of folks don\u2019t know about me in the sense that I\u2019ve got this visual element, as well. It really came together to make this, I think, a very heartfelt story. When you read this, you feel like it\u2019s something more than just [a] children\u2019s book because this message speaks to everybody. If you don\u2019t give up, if you don\u2019t quit, if you just keep on going, there\u2019s no limit to what you can do. That\u2019s a message that our young and young-at-heart need, especially in this day and age where everything is so instantaneous and so quick that we often lose that powerful essence of perseverance and persistence and patience. Those are all qualities that continue to need to be developed, and that\u2019s what this story outlines.<\/p>\n

Not only is Smith expanding artistically locally, he\u2019s also finding himself on the national stage once again as one of the 10 finalists for the Grammy Music Educator of the Year award for the second consecutive year. Even though he\u2019s no stranger to the nomination, he says that it\u2019s still just as unbelievable now as it was a year ago.<\/p>\n

SMITH:<\/b> This thing is surreal. I was telling my wife about the process, and she reminded me of a conversation I had with her a while back. I shared with her how when I was a kid, I dreamed of it. Man, I say a kid … Dude, like Burger King years! (Laughs.) Like when I was screwing up the orders in drive thru because nobody [could] hear over my sax, I was dreaming. (Laughs.) I always dreamed that I would win a Grammy, you know?\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

As a kid, that\u2019s what you do. Your imagination runs, and nobody tells you \u201cno\u201d yet, you know, so you just dream big. All these years later, I\u2019m going to be honest, I put that on the back burner. Reality kicked in, you know? Adulting, right? (Laughs.) But middle school band directors from a little town in Louisiana don\u2019t win Grammy\u2019s, you know what I mean? So, to have this opportunity here again … you know, the dream could come true. I\u2019m speaking in kind of declarative speech now so don\u2019t take it as arrogance \u2026 I just believe that you gotta believe, man \u2026 So, having said that, when I win this Grammy, (laughs), it\u2019s not just for me, man. This is gonna be super cool, but it\u2019s also going to be an opportunity for me to go back to my classroom and tell my kids that anything is possible.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

A few years back, I told my kids that if you work hard and if you keep on going, then all your dreams can come true, and that your sound, not just the music, but \u201cyour sound\u201d can place you before kings and queens. That\u2019s something my grandmother used to say. I think it\u2019s a scripture, but she would often say that to me.<\/p>\n

Fast forward to this time last year … some of my former students sent me a picture … about 12 of them … and they said, \u201cMr. Smith, you were right.\u201d The McNeese State University Band went and did the parade in London, and one of the last stops they did was [perform] … for the Queen of England.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

And I was like, man, this was another time that you forget how much they can remember. It had been at least six years since I told those kids that\u2026 maybe 10. But they remembered it. And I think that this Grammy thing would be another beautiful opportunity to show kids and to show the community what\u2019s possible when you believe; when you discover your sound; and when you don\u2019t give up; and when you keep on going \u2014 because I\u2019m telling you man, this is huge. This is a game changer right here.<\/p>\n

While most folks out there are familiar with the Grammy Awards, many might not be that familiar with the Music Educator\u2019s award itself. Smith tells us that, unlike the categorized awards we all know, the Educator\u2019s award goes to just one person culled from over 4,000 submissions.<\/p>\n

SMITH:<\/b> Back in February, there [was] a window of opportunity where educators [could] be nominated. Now, the nominations can come from basically anyone, and you are nominated by someone, typically from your community \u2026 [who] sees the work and the value and believes that it needs to be recognized. So, out of those, I think they choose about 2,500 that will be in the pool, so to speak. [It\u2019s] a great honor just for them to accept you.<\/p>\n

At that point, you are asked to submit some information, and from that information they cut it down to … I don\u2019t even know the number \u2026 I\u2019m going to say a thousand people. From that, they cut it down again, and, typically in June, the quarterfinalists are named. That\u2019s only 200 people. Those 200 then have to submit evidence, artifacts, videos … all this stuff to legitimize your standing and for them to select who will go to the next round. In October, they select the semifinalists, which is the top 25, and now we are at the finalists.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

In December, roundabout the same time that they announce the music nominees, they also named the top 10 music education finalists, and that\u2019s where I\u2019m at. Those individuals were featured on CBS This Morning a couple of weeks ago.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

At this point, I tell folks, if nothing else happens, you\u2019re a winner because you actually do receive something. My school receives a thousand dollars to go into the school fund, which is very nice. And a representative from the Grammy\u2019s will come down to our school at some point this year, after all the dust settles and the winner is [named], to make a formal presentation.<\/p>\n

At this point, it\u2019s just the waiting game. There\u2019s nothing I can do. No one can vote. It\u2019s not American Idol. (Laughs.) It\u2019s just wait and see. Now, the good news is if they select you, then you\u2019re not like all these music people that go to the Grammy\u2019s not knowing if they win or not. You already know you\u2019re a winner. So that\u2019s the good news. But the bad news is they only pick one person. But I\u2019m believing, man. I\u2019m believing this year is going to be the year, and it would just be an amazing thing.<\/p>\n

So, to win would mean you\u2019d go to the Grammy\u2019s; your school gets $10,000, which [is] a win. It would mean that you are a special guest of the Grammy\u2019s and you go to the entire Grammy week. Two days before the televised Grammy\u2019s, there\u2019s a presentation specifically for the music educator of the year, and they honor you that day and recognize you. And then you would actually be on the Grammy show on that Sunday as well. We won\u2019t know until the last week in January, so fingers crossed. They don\u2019t give you much time. But I tell you this, I mean they don\u2019t have to, really. I think if you win\u2026 even if you [have] plans that second week in February, I think you change them.<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/span>But, Grammy or no, Mickey has big plans for 2019, including not only finding ways to enrich and bolster students but educators as well.<\/p>\n

SMITH:<\/b> 2019 is, I guess you can call it a coming out party of sorts. Everything that I\u2019ve been working on… it\u2019s never been singularly about the music. It\u2019s about helping others. It\u2019s about enrichment. It\u2019s about helping people find their way. And that\u2019s what music does. I think that\u2019s what education does, too.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

So, I have something I\u2019m calling Mickey Smith Jr. Enrichment and Solutions. And what I do with that is take a motivational mixture of music and message and go into schools and help teachers. I pour into teachers because so many resources in schools have been poured into the students, and rightfully so. But often [what is] lacking is the teachers and they\u2019re the very people that have to pour into others. But you can\u2019t pour into somebody if you haven\u2019t been poured into yourself.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

So, by doing this, I\u2019m bringing enrichment and solutions, showing them how to successfully navigate what I call a sound 180 days of school, which we call the \u201cSound 180.\u201d So, that\u2019s one thing that I\u2019m doing. I\u2019m also taking my message into schools, churches and community groups.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

Photo By Elizabeth Medwick<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

 <\/p>\n

It\u2019s basically what I\u2019ve always done. If you\u2019ve come to a Sax in the City show, you\u2019re feeling the enrichment. You leave feeling better because it\u2019s not just about a song. We want to give you something that\u2019s going to last after the song is over.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

That\u2019s why this book is so important. This book is a message that will last a child for a lifetime. It\u2019s a gift they can open up again and again and again. I also have some other books that I\u2019m authoring right now \u2026 more or less devotionals \u2026 meant to help educators as well.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

So, there\u2019s a lot of things I\u2019m going to be using, because I see music is a powerful thing. But I also think that there\u2019s a message that needs to be heard in this season: a message that I\u2019ve learned as being part of this community. They\u2019re lessons that I taught and lessons that I caught, man. Some of them came from being in the classroom, but some of them just from being a part of this thing we call Southwest Louisiana. There\u2019re some things that we learn each and every day because of the folks that we have right here, and that\u2019s what it\u2019s all about.<\/p>\n

After a decade plus of performing, educating and being a positive influence in our community, Mickey Smith\u2019s charm, charisma and desire to help others remains undiminished.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Whether or not we get to see him \u201cLive from Los Angeles\u201d in February, people like Mickey should be celebrated and embraced by all of us here in Southwest Louisiana, not just as a musician or an educator, but also as a person: one of spirit, compassion and love. He truly is a local treasure, and I hope that I can safely say that we will be rooting him on all the way to the Grammy stage.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Best of luck, Mick. Go win one for all of us, brother.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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