When Canadian country music stars Brett Kissel and Dallas Smith aren’t performing on stage or working in the studio, there’s no where they’d rather be than at home with their kids.
Kissel told iHeartRadio.ca that daughter Mila, who he and wife Cecilia welcomed last January, “is the best thing that has ever happened.”
The 26-year-old singer said fatherhood “absolutely” changes the decisions he makes about performing and recording.
“My wife feels that ever since becoming a parent she sees that I work harder but I also work smarter.”
Kissel said every parent knows the challenges of balancing work and family. “But if I’m going to be out on the road, I try to be as busy as I possibly can so that when I’ve got time off and I’m at home, I’m at home,” he explained.
Fellow country artist Dallas Smith admitted that being a dad has affected his song choices — and career.
The 38-year-old singer has two-year-old daughter Vayda with wife Kristen and an 11-year-old son, Carson, from a previous relationship.
“What I was doing was very, very negative content — you know, bad relationships, that kind of stuff. When you have kids your life changes for the better in a lot of ways and I wanted my music to reflect that,” explained Smith.
“I want them — when they decide to look at my catalogue and sort of dive deeper into what dad did when they were kids — I want them to be proud of what I did and not think that I was unhappy while they were in my life. Because I’m not.
“These are honestly the best years of my life with my two kids and I want my music to reflect that.”
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Smith said his family is the reason he hasn't made the move to the epicentre of the country music industry, Nashville — even though it would help him crack the lucrative U.S. market.
“I’ve got kids. I’ve got a family,” the B.C. resident said. “My son lives four minutes down the street from me with his mom. I take him to school when I’m home. I’m very involved.
“So if I moved to Nashville full-time, it might be good for my career but it wouldn’t be very good for my sleep. I wouldn’t be able to rest my head at night knowing that that’s what the trade-off is.”
Smith said his home will always be in Canada.
“Spending more time down there will be OK,” he said, “but moving full-time, I don’t think that’s something that honestly I’ll ever be prepared to do.”
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