LITTLE ROCK — Eric Church and Luke Bryan are part of Nashville’s young country movement, and as such have been paying their dues as they work their way up from club shows and gigs opening for established stars. Now both are more than flirting with the big time and sharing top billing at an amphitheater show this weekend in central Arkansas.
And it doesn’t hurt that both have the sort of “young hunk” good looks that help aspiring artists attract attention and build a base of fans. Both record for Capitol Nashville and both have released two albums so far, with all four having cracked the Top 10 country charts. Bryan hit No. 1 earlier this year with his single, “Rain Is a Good Thing.”
Church, 33, grew up in Granite Falls, N.C., and though he has yet to make the cover of Rolling Stone, he did about as well on June 12, when heappeared on the cover of Billboard, the music industry’s best-known publication.
“I originally wanted to play sports, but injuries cut that short,” Church explains in a recent interview. “I also wanted to be married and a small-town guy, and like I once said, ‘I thank God I ain’t what I almost was.’”
A graduate of AppalachianState University, Church almost married and settled down in his hometown, but instead decided to pursue a career in music and took off for Nashville, where he began pitching his songs and seeking a publishing deal. His first break came when he co-wrote “The World Needs a Drink,” which Terri Clark recorded and took to a top 30 position.
“I’ve been playing music for 20 years now, if I count that I got my first guitar at 13,” Church says. “But I didn’t start playing in bars and clubs until I was 18.”
Church released his debut album, Sinners Like Me, in 2006, and it featured four hit singles, “How ’Bout You,”“Two Pink Lines,” “Guys Like Me” and the title cut. He began landing jobs opening shows for some country headliners, including Brad Paisley, Rascal Flatts, Dierks Bentley, and classic rocker Bob Seger.
His second album, Carolina, came out in March 2009 and reached No. 4 on Billboard’s country chart, propelled by the singles “Love Your Love the Most,” “Hell on the Heart” and “Smoke a Little Smoke.”
Church admits that his early years were as much about rock ’n’ roll as they were about country.
“I wasn’t really listening to modern country much,” he says, “but I was intoJohnny Cash, Merle Haggard and [Kris] Kristofferson. But when I saw AC/DC, my whole world flipped upside down. I was a child of the ’80s, when AC/DC and Metallica were real prominent, and I was listening to full-blown rock ’n’ roll and even metal, but I don’t know if anyone rocked like Waylon [Jennings] when he wanted to.
“I’ve got a five-piece band now. I didn’t want a 10-piece backing me up. That would be more like an orchestra. I’m going for that grit and that gravel sound, which seems to resonate more with guys. Our crowds seem to be a lot of blue-collar guys and moms. I don’t write about soccermoms, so I don’t see many of them.”
Co-headliner Bryan, whose second album he titled Doin’ My Thing, has found a successful thing in appealing to a college crowd. He spent his college years earning a business degree at Georgia Southern University in Statesboro, where he did some “research” on spring break activities.
“We used to partake a bit in that,” Bryan says, referring to road trips to Florida beaches. His research led him to write such college favorites as “Sorority Girls” and “Take My Drunk Ass Home.”
Bryan, who turned 34 on July 17, was born and raised in Leesburg, Ga., the son of a peanut farmer. He moved to Nashville in September 2001 and his first taste of success came when he wrote “My Honky Tonk History,” the title cut of Travis Tritt’s 2004 album.
He also wrote “Good Directions,” a No. 1 hit for Billy Currington, an event that Bryan can now laugh about.
“It all turned out like we wanted,” he says. “It was the right thing to happen, and now I keep all my songs to myself.”
About the same time he and Currington were smiling, Bryan released his debut album, I’ll Stay Me, which contained the hits “We Rode in Trucks” and “Country Man.”
Industry plaudits sooncame Bryan’s way, and this year he won the Academy of Country Music’s award for Top New Solo Vocalist and Top New Artist.
“That was probably the biggest night of my life,” he says.
Bryan and his college sweetheart Caroline were married in 2006 and have one child they call “Bo,” and another one, tentatively tagged “Tate,” due in August. Bryan hopes to be home for the event.
“It should be in about a month,” he says. “We’ll keep our fingers crossed he’s on schedule.”
Randy Houser, one of two opening acts, got a jump-start toward stardom in 2005 when he co-wrote “Honky Tonk Badonkadonk” for Trace Adkins, which convinced Houser to become a performer. He released a debut album, Anything Goes, in 2008, with thetitle cut and “Boots On” becoming hits. In November 2009, he released his second album, They Call Me Cadillac.
The show’s other opening act, Whiskey Myers, is a new act from east Texas, led by two Codys: lead singer Cody Cannon and lead guitarist Cody Tate. The band’s career got a boost in 2007 when it opened a show for Roger Creager at a bar in Gun Barrel City, Texas.
Eric Church
and Luke Bryan Opening acts: Randy Houser, Whiskey Myers 6:30 p.m. Friday, Riverfest Amphitheatre, LaHarpe Boulevard at President Clinton Avenue, Little Rock Admission: $25 lawn seats ($29.50 day of show); $35 reserved seating and general admission pit; on sale at Ticketmaster outlets; amphitheater box office opens at 5 p.m. Friday and show will go on, rain or shine (800) 745-3000 ticketmaster.com
Weekend, Pages 32 on 07/29/2010