Talk Music Talk With Boice

Thirteen albums into a storied career as a singer-songwriter, Darden Smith is also a humanitarian. I'd already been familiar with his music for some time and was intrigued to hear about his non-profit SongwritingWith:Soldiers at the 14th Street Apple Store in Manhattan. The purpose of SW:S is to connect professional songwriters with active duty and veteran military members to write songs from their combat stories and the experience of returning home.  Darden's emotions for the soldiers was palpable as he spoke of several success stories that happened during the program's songwriting retreats. His latest album, 2013's Love Calling, is a gorgeous organic tone poem on par with Tracy Chapman's New Beginning album. Love Calling includes my favorite track, the haunting "Baltimore", which I must confess I play on repeat. Our conversation explores his career and songwriting process plus the inception of SW:S. Visit Darden Smith online: www.dardensmith.com For more information on SongwritingWith: Soldiers: www.songwrit