Thursday, October 23, 2008
By John Benson
The new frontman is an energetic performer, the band’s drummer said.
111While some bands would have called it quits, Lonestar, which over the past 15 years has sold more than 10 million records and scored hit songs “No News,” “Amazed” and “Smile,” wasn’t going down that road. Instead, the group would forge on, finding a new singer and writing its own second chapter.
That search led the outfit to Florida native Cody Collins, who makes his Youngstown debut with Lonestar on Saturday at Stambaugh Auditorium.
“We’re just happy as can be,” said Lonestar drummer Keech Rainwater, calling from Nashville, Tenn. “We have our nose to the grindstone trying to get out there and play as many shows as possible. The vibe is great in the band with a new singer. It’s just fun as usual.
“I guess when you get new blood in a band like that it sort of refreshes everything. It’s like hitting restart on your computer.”
While Cody officially made his Lonestar debut a year ago with the holiday album release of “My Christmas List,” the big step is with the band’s upcoming six-song EP, “The Future is Now,” which is due out in early 2009. Among the new songs in the mix are the uplifting lead single “Let Me Love You,” which was already released to radio stations and enjoyed moderate success, as well as the adult contemporary sounding “You’re the Reason Why.”
“One of the things we’ve done in this new chapter is we’ve kind of gotten rid of the sort of family-type songs about kids and being at home and things like that,” Rainwater said. “Richie contributed a lot to that, and we just kind of got in a rut with those songs. We were predictable. So we decided with the new singer and new change that we’d go back into the direction that we had been in around the ‘Lonely Grill’ album, about romance, love and relationships.”
Perhaps the biggest hurdle facing the members of Lonestar is the acceptance of the new singer by its loyal following. Rainwater said the band took this into consideration when picking Collins as McDonald’s replacement. And so far, the results have been everything the outfit hoped for and more.
“What he brings is a youthfulness,” Rainwater said. “I think he’s 24 now, and that sort of brings the average age of the band way down because he is so young. If you average it out, we’d all probably be in our mid-30s.
“But he has a very unique vocal sound and just an energy to him when he gets out there on stage. Richie wasn’t much of a showman, he was more of a songwriter and a singer. And Cody really gets into it. It’s just the way he holds the mic stand and gets in front of the crowd. He’s almost like you’d see Elvis getting out there and doing his thing. He’s sort of like a little Elvis.”