‘Redneck’ is ‘right song for right time’

By John Benson

Platinum country artist Tracy Lawrence admits he’s kowtowing to his loyal fans with his current single “You Can’t Hide Redneck,” which is from his latest album “For the Love.”

“It is, but I think it’s the right song for the right time here because the mood of the country is kind of down,” said Lawrence, calling from Nashville, Tenn. “The economy the way it is, unemployment on the rise, we just needed something light and uplifting to kind of get people’s minds off of what’s going on. The whole premise is no matter what you do in life or whether you’re successful, there is still a little redneck under the surface, and you kind of stay who you are and where you come from. It’s always kind of there.”

He added, “So this is a fun record and the radio stations are really gravitating to it. We’re getting a ton of early airplay on it, so we’ll keep our fingers crossed. We might have another top 10 [hit] at least.”

Considering Lawrence scored his first No. 1 single in a decade with 2006’s “Find Out Who Your Friends Are,” which can also be found on “For the Love,” the 40-year-old artist is being somewhat modest. Add in the fact that he experienced his most recent success with his own record label Rocky Comfort Records, conventional thinking would find the Arkansas native once again feeling Music City invincibility.

Instead, Lawrence, who enjoyed platinum and gold success on his first five albums — 1991’s “Sticks and Stones,” 1993’s “Alibis,” 1994’s “I See It Now,” 1996’s “Time Marches On” and 1997’s “The Coast Is Clear ” — only to see marginal success over the last decade is a humbled man who for his next project may surprise a few fans. Already recorded is contemporary Christian country record “The Rock,” which is due out in 2009.

“I just felt like I was in the right place of my life for it,” Lawrence said. “It was something that I really wanted to do, and I couldn’t have done it several years ago. It just kind of came around full circle, that place where it was really healthy for me to do this record right now. I really put my heart and soul into it.”

In looking at Lawrence’s current set list, the singer said he’s been playing unreleased new tracks “I’m Done” and “The Book You Never Read,” as well as many of his hits and even a few older nonsingle album cuts. What makes Lawrence’s upcoming Cleveland gig Saturday so special is the fact he’s playing The Agora, which in recent years hasn’t really hosted many — if any — country music shows.

“I didn’t realize it was a rock venue but we’ve been playing quite a few more of those around the country,” Lawrence said. “We have a pretty edgy show, anyway. Hopefully folks will enjoy it. We do a lot of the up-tempo material. It’s not your typical cry-in-your-beer kind of stuff. We have a lot of honky tonk, dancing songs. That’s pretty much the bulk of what my music is, things you can two-step and three-step and waltz to.”

He added, “So it’ll be fun, and it’s something to take your mind off how bad the [Cleveland] Browns are.”