Alan Jackson takes new talent on the road
* 01/20/99
(c) Copyright 1999 BPI Communications, Inc. All Rights Reserved.
BPI Entertainment News Wire Feature
By MICHAEL A. CAPOZZOLI JR.
Entertainment News Wire
For quite some time, country star Alan Jackson has wanted to take an
old-fashioned, Grand Ole Opry-style road show on tour with him.
But with timing, transportation and production logistics rivaling a
small military operation, Jackson's dream took years to get off the
drawing board.
The project began to take shape last fall when Jackson's manager gave
him a list of country artists who'd be willing to tour in support of
his
latest album, ``High Mileage.'' From there, Jackson picked five opening
acts.
"I tried to mix it up a little bit with male and female acts," he
says. "Any time you get different people, with their own styles of
music, that might create a little spark."
The result is Jackson's "High Mileage Road Show," which kicked off
Jan. 14 in Huntsville, Ala. Dates are scheduled through February.
Jackson says if all goes well, more dates will be added after March.
Resembling a Grand Ole Opry show from the '40s and '50s, the tour
features country newcomers Sara Evans, Danni Leigh, Chad Brock, Andy
Griggs and Clint Daniels. Jackson hopes his Road Show will give these
performers the break they need in the crowded field of country debuts.
``From what I've been hearing nowadays, there're so many new acts out
there touring that it's really hard for a new act to make it in this
business,'' he notes. ``With the way radio is right now, it's really
hard for new acts to get their music out there to the people."
Does Jackson, who made his debut in 1989 with "Here in the Real
World," think he'd make it if he were just starting out today?
"No," he says with a laugh, "I don't think I'd make it at all. I
think
my music is a little bit too country for country radio. If I were a
brand new artist, I think it'd be really hard to get my music played on
radio.''
One reason for his success over the past decade, Jackson says, is
that
he can relate to country fans in the Heartland. Underneath all the hype
and million-dollar promotional campaigns, Jackson says he's nothing but
a country boy at heart. And his fans appreciate his music because of
that.
"I've always gotten feedback from the fans about how they relate to
my
music," Jackson says. "The fans have really supported me all the way,
and I was very lucky to have then on my side. Right from the time of my
first hit, I've gotten feedback from working class people. They'll
write
me letters (which he says he does read), or they'll send stuff to us
about how much a song means to them. And that means a lot to me, it
really does. I come from that same background."
Jackson stresses that the "luck factor" in his career is not to be
underestimated. Growing up in rural Newnan, Ga., Jackson, 40, says he
never had a definite career goal before moving to Nashville in the late
'80s.
``You know, had I not done this, I'd just probably have gone on doing
something else, but I really don't know what,'' he says with a laugh.
``I did a lot of little odd jobs back in my home town. But I didn't
finish college or have a trade or a profession. I always loved cars and
* I fooled around with them, and I loved country music and creating
songs.
That's about all that I was interested in. So one day, I just moved up
here to Nashville and I worked hard, and over time, it all came
together."
Although he's scaled back his promotional duties, Jackson doubts
he'll
ever take an extended break from the cycle of recording and touring
he's
been on for the past decade. While 1998 was a personally tumultuous
year
-- with his highly publicized five-month separation from his wife of 19
years -- Jackson has no plans to leave the spotlight.
"I've cut down my dates some over the last few years, but if I wasn't
out touring, what would I do?'' he asks with a laugh. ``I don't have a
job, you know? I think I'd go crazy. I think I'd loose touch with
* (country music). Touring helps me to stay fresh and keep my music
sharp,
because I get a lot of song ideas whenever I'm out on the road. I'll be
traveling on the bus, or in a hotel room, and I'll just grab my guitar
and sit down at a desk with a pen and a piece of paper and write
something right there and then. So being out on the road working has
been really productive for me."
However, being on the road for long periods of time hasn't always
been
good for Jackson's home life in Nashville, where he lives with his wife
and three daughters.
"Last year -- of course everybody knows now I had a hard year,'' he
acknowledges. But that's all behind him now. ``My personal life at home
is finally right where it should be. I'm happier than ever. So, like I
said earlier, I've been lucky to have the success I have. And through
it
all, to have my wife and family by my side."
