It’s a Furman Family Affair

Before an Allman Brothers concert brought them together, Brandon Smith ’01 and his wife Tara ’00 both came to Furman University as athletes.

Tara was recruited to Furman to play soccer under coach Brian Lee, and she fell in love with the opportunities to engage on campus.

“The size of the school was perfect, and Greenville was obviously a much different place 25 years ago,” Tara says.

She rushed Alpha Delta Pi her sophomore year, which was when she met Brandon in his first year. Brandon came to Furman to play tennis, then rushed Tau Kappa Epsilon. Quickly, the two found themselves spending more time together.

“You really find out who you naturally gravitate toward,” Brandon says.

Sparks flew after the two unexpectedly ran into one another at an Allman Brothers concert. Suddenly they saw each other in a new light, and the soundtrack to their budding relationship started to take shape.

“A lot of our early days revolved around the Allman Brothers, Widespread Panic and Grateful Dead-type bands,” Brandon says.

Brandon had always noodled with various instruments; his grandfather was a professional pianist who wrote a popular music textbook. After he and Tara graduated and their wedding neared, he decided to buy his first banjo.

“I don’t claim to be someone who mastered any instrument,” he says. “I started playing banjo when I was 21, and while I’ve been in a band before I kind of learned to play alongside our boys.”

He and Tara have three children together: Jarratt, 19, Witt, 17, and Benjo, 13. As the boys grew up, Brandon and Tara shared their love of music with their boys. Jarratt picked up the guitar, which gave him the freedom to experiment and think abstractly when he played. Witt had a sharp mind for math and patterns, and
the rhythm of a bass appealed to him.

“And Benjo, he’s like Animal from The Muppets. He comes in like a wild man on the drums,” Brandon says with a laugh.

While Brandon and the boys have tried to get Tara to sing with them, she’s adamant that she’s no singer. Instead, she’s helped manage and support the band.

The boys started their own youth band when the youngest was 6 years old. During COVID-19 shutdowns, Brandon began playing alongside them at home, and their family band emerged from those garage band sessions. Surrender Cobra – named after the pose sports fans make after a bad play, hands on their head with elbows splayed out like a cobra’s hood – has since gone from playing cover songs at local events to recording original music for their album, “Upstate Sound Patterns.”

“It’s been such a pleasure to be on that journey with them. Even though I’m their dad, I’m their musical peer as well,” Brandon says.

Greenwood, Brandon’s hometown that first elected him mayor in 2018, has been fertile territory for their sons. The South Carolina city has a musical legacy as home of beach rock legends the Swingin’ Medallions, and established local musicians have been very supportive of younger generations.

“There’s something special in the water in Greenwood,” Brandon says. “You can find live music four nights a week anywhere here, and it’s been a catalyst for the boys to really do what they’ve wanted.”