Marcus Smith “Day After Day”
Life is hard, but in Marcus Smith’s music, you’ll find courage, passion, and love that heals and recharges you for the fight, today or tomorrow. “Day After Day” is a funky fusion where earthy, confessional lyrics meets world percussion and captivating melodies for a rich, groovy moment of the present. Uplifting, hard-hitting, warm and mesmerizing—everything that makes a piece of music so good are there. For everyone who understand defeat and hardship, “Day After Day” hits hard.
Although the inspiration of the song comes from a rather darker time of Marcus Smith’s life, he channels something courageous and encouraging—a piece of art that is based on life but rises above. “Day After Day” feels like a tight hug followed by a lift-up to cheer you up. In our interview, Smith describes the songwriting being cathartic and healing for him, but listening to the tune, it seems that he’s healing the world, pulping his creativity and introspection and love into a song, drenched with Cleveland’s musical landscape. The sonic world Smith created just want you to stay in there forever.
Read our interview below and learn more about the tune and Marcus Smith as an artist.
Punk Head: I love the eclectic blends of sonics in ‘Day After Day.’ Can you tell me more about your journey as an artist?
Marcus Smith: I’ve been making music for the last 18 or 19 years. My first group was in 2004 in high school. We were together for about 11 years before we went our separate ways. Those years with the band really helped to perfect our songwriting skills early and I’ve been able to use that with everything I’m doing now. It’s really cool to see the growth.
PH: What is the creative process like?
Smith: My creative process feels very accidental. What I mean is, rarely do I sit down with the intention to write a song anymore. It’s usually when I should be doing something else, I’ll hear a melody I like and hum it into my voice memos app. If it’s catchy, I’ll keep coming back to it adding little bits each time. I also have pages worth of 1 off song lyrics in my phone. I’ll wake up in the middle of the night just to jot something down. My brain works in weird ways
PH: What do you like the best about this track?
Smith: This track is a vulnerable song for me. I often put my entire self into my songwriting but this one felt like emotional release for me at the time. I remember feeling down on myself because I hadn’t really written anything in a while. I was debating if maybe this is where I end my music career. And the line in the chorus ‘day after day, I’m always moving forward’ hit me like a Mike Tyson jab to the face. The first lyric I wrote and the first in the song is ‘no matter the setbacks and steps back, I’ve just gotta press on.’ Which was the full embodiment of how I felt in that moment and that’s the coolest thing about this song.
PH: How has growing up in Cleveland, Ohio affected your music?
Smith: We get all four seasons so probably the biggest thing the city did for me is Seasonal Affective Disorder lol. But joking aside, I grew up with so much local influence from Bone Thugs n Harmony and Kid Cudi to Chip Tha Ripper and Al Fatz. We have an amazing local music scene and it continues to grow. My music is kind of a reflection of that. I’ve always gotta stay as Cleveland as I can!
PH: What would you like to say to your fans out there?
Smith: Thank you so much for your continued support. Check out the new single ‘Day After Day’ wherever you stream music. The music video is available right now on YouTube. Follow me on social media and check out my website for all the new merch I just released
