TORONTO -- If you're waiting for Dallas Smith -- erstwhile Default frontman turned fast-rising idol of Canadian country -- to begin pandering to Nashville stereotypes, well, you're wasting your time.

"People can smell things that are contrived a mile away," the 36-year-old Langley, B.C., native said this week in a telephone interview. "That's why you'll never see me in a cowboy hat. It's just not me. It's not who I am. People can smell that.

"I'm glad I didn't try to pretend I'm something I'm not."

The authentic approach has certainly seemed to work thus far for Smith, who's now carried eight different tunes to the Top 10 of Canada's country singles chart.

This week, he released his polished sophomore effort "Lifted," a concise compilation of rollicking good-time country where the guitars are heavy and the lyrical themes are always light. The release comes 13 years after Smith's first act, when he led sludgy post-grungers Default to platinum sales on both sides of the border with the hit single "Wasting My Time."

As he prepares for a Canadian tour in January and a performance at Sunday's Grey Cup in Vancouver, Smith talked to The Canadian Press about leaving songwriting to the professionals and missing his infant daughter on the road.

CP: Your vocals really stand out on "Lifted," especially if you compare them to your work with Default. What's changed in your singing?

Smith: I've learned that it's OK to fail. I'm trying new things. If you listen back to it, it sounds ridiculous what I'm doing sometimes, but I try to find my voice and emote differently. With the Default stuff, I was so afraid of making mistakes as a singer -- so I was technically good, but all those neat mistakes and the cracks and the pops and the things you don't mean to do, those are the great moments in a vocal take.

I've learned to let that stuff go. Don't worry about sounding like an ass -- something cool might come out of it.

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CP: All the songs on "Lifted" were written by others. Why did you go that route, rather than putting your own songs in the spotlight?

Smith: I'm a "best song wins" kind of guy. At the end of the day, I want to release records that don't have filler in them -- songs aren't on there based on ego or pride.

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CP: The way you attack the wordy chorus of "Tippin' Point," there's almost a trace of a rap influence --

Smith: It's a bunch of triplets, right? As soon as you start doing that, people say it's rap. It's just staccato. It's just a little aggressive. I knew as soon as I was bunching some of those words up, people would call it rap. (laughs)

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CP: You played some dates with Bob Seger. Did you get the chance to spend any time with him?

Smith: I did dinner with him one night. It was just him and me. It was an amazing experience. Unfortunately on the tour he was quite sick, a couple of the dates got cancelled, so I didn't see him a whole lot. But I got to sit down with him and talk for a good 30-45 minutes. We talked about everything but music. We talked about family and different cities we've been to. It was a completely off-the-record view into what Bob's like, just personally.

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CP: What's the story behind Lady Antebellum recording "Slow Rollin"' after you sang it on your "Tippin' Point EP"?

Smith: I guess Lady A heard the song after it was cut and liked it enough to cut it themselves. When I heard they were going to cut the song, I didn't know what to think about it at first. It felt a little awkward. You know, "If they release it in Canada as a single -- it was a Top 10 hit for me, so what happens to (mine)?" It was just weird.

I heard it and they did a great version of it as well. It is what it is. If they play a show in Canada and I'm around, I'd definitely try to find a back-channel way to get in there and invite myself onstage, and do half my version. (laughs)

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CP: You have a baby at home (a 10-month-old daughter). You're touring in the winter, out there promoting your record now, is that difficult at all?

Smith: I got a great teammate at home. She's fantastic. When I leave, as far as emotional support or helping out around the house, (my wife) is a single mom. She's a champ. She's such a great mom and baby girl is doing good. It's tough being gone.

I've got a son who will be 10 in May. I'm used to being away and I've built a really great relationship with my son being gone, but we get to FaceTime, we get to talk and stuff. With my daughter, when I'm gone she's not at an age where she can interact obviously. There's nothing like holding your baby at that age. Nothing else compares to that.