Rhett Akins and Radney Foster are teaching me about the nitty-gritty, down-and-dirty music business.
Also, my eyes have been opened to the industry by John Michael Montgomery, Mark Chesnutt, Faith Hill and Deana Carter.
Don't be alarmed; I haven't decided to chuck everything and try my luck as a country singer. Toting a guitar around the country and wailing about my hurtin' heart simply wouldn't work for me - not to mention the fact that I have little, if any, musical talent.
But talking to these entertainers, and other big names in the rock, pop, folk, and R&B fields, has proved very enlightening. During the course of conversations about new albums, tour dates and hit songs, some interesting facts have emerged.
Did you know, for instance, that a performer can complete work on a recording, then wait a year or more for it to be released? All the agony and the ecstasy of seeing a new CD enter the public arena is postponed while the artist, presumably, crosses his or her fingers and waits.
Sometimes, a release date is set and put off at the last minute, for reasons that can range from "bad timing" to "no money or staff to promote the album right now."
The latter fate recently befell Foster, whose first album in four years, See What You Want to See, was switched from a Sept. 15, 1998, release date to some time in February 1999.
"At first it's always a jolt; you've finished the music and it's ready to go," Foster said during a phone interview. "But I'd rather have all (the record company) ducks in a line. Better it comes out later and right than sooner and wrong."
That's 12 years of experience talking, plus the practicality of a musician who recognizes that his tunes are hard to pigeonhole. As a former member of the "cowpunk" duo Foster and Lloyd, Foster is used to breaking ground and crafting songs that don't fit a traditional format.
"Songs are the backbone of the deal," Foster said. "Once they're recorded, they take on a life of their own. You can't always make people rush out and buy
'em. But I believe if you follow your heart and do what you love, the money will follow you."
Not every musician shares Foster's idealism about cash flow, but several have revealed similar stories about major labels' playing unexpected games of musical chairs with release dates. Also, more than a few big-name artists agreed on the following pieces of insider information. Loosen your grips on those illusions, music fans, because the truth is in here:
On tour, performers may have absolutely no clue where they are.
When this happens, Akins said, the name of the city is printed in big letters and taped to the stage where the frontman or frontwoman is likely to see it. So as the lead singer of your favorite band shouts "Hello, Birmingham!" he or she might be relying solely on the geography skills of trusted underlings.
Veteran musicians tend to spend very little time at the venue.
Forget the idea that any star is running over vocal scales or polishing his next smash backstage in those precious hours before the show begins. Akins, an honest fellow, blasted that perception with an anecdote from his last tour stop.
"Ten minutes before we went on, the band and I were sitting in the bus playing Nintendo," he reports. "We were talking about what everyone in the audience thought we were probably doing. We were goofing around, saying, 'Hey, we've still got five more minutes.'
"But I used to think the same thing when I was in the audience," Akins continued. "I'd say, 'I bet Hank Jr. is back there workin' with his voice coach or peekin' behind the curtain to see how many folks are out there.' After you're in music for a living for a while, you realize that just isn't the way it happens."
Headliners don't usually choose their opening acts.
In fact, many don't even know who'll be opening for them until they arrive at the concert hall. It's not unknown for a star to insist on a warm up band because he or she flipped over them in another context, but that's the exception rather than the rule. Mostly, opening acts are scheduled by record companies or promoters, who have their own rationales and motives.
For example, when New Wave rocker Graham Parker decided to appear on the recent "Tellin' Stories" acoustic tour, which grouped sets by three or four solo acts, Parker had never met his future colleagues or heard them in concert. Nor did he intend to hang out with them.
"I need a lot of space," Parker admitted. "You do get to know people when you're thrown together a lot, but I like being alone and will probably find every opportunity to slide away. Fans might not realize it - why should they? - but I'd rather stare at the ceiling of a hotel room."
Mary Colurso is pop music writer for The Birmingham News. You can e-mail her at mcolurso@bhamnews.com.
© 1998 The Birmingham News