|
Don't worry: He's still Tim |
|
|
|
|
|
|
Written by Dan England
|
|
Monday, 23 June 2008 |
|
|
|
|
 Yep, that’s Tim McGraw’s voice you hear with Def Leppard on “Nine Lives,” the band’s most successful single since before you got married and had kids and otherwise took all the fun out of your carefree life.
Def Leppard. You know, the pop metal giants of the ’80s, who did “Pour Some Sugar On Me” and “Rock of Ages” and “Photograph” and all those other songs that you (or maybe your dad) hear on the Arena Rock station on TV while dad (or you) plays cards in the basement.
It would seem to be a strange mix. McGraw is arguably the most successful male country artist since Garth Brooks. He’s won 527 awards from the Academy of Country Music and the Country Music Association (actually it’s 11, but really, after 10, who’s counting) and has 30 No. 1 singles.
He’s also sold 40 million albums, which is lot. He’s also one of the headliners and the biggest act for this year’s Greeley Stampede.
But all of that comes from the country music scene, and Def Leppard isn’t quite country. Not even a little bit.
Still, McGraw was a fan and a friend. His tour manager is the brother of Rick Allen, Def Leppard’s drummer (yes, the guy who drums with one arm), and so one day, two years ago, he was writing and fooling around on the piano when he decided to write them a song.
“It came out pretty easily,” McGraw said in a phone interview. “There’s no separation when it comes to writing. You just sit down and write whatever comes.”
The song somehow blends a bit of McGraw’s soul with Leppard’s classic, harmonized pop-metal sound, but maybe that’s because they both worked on it through e-mail. They e-mailed each other, back and forth, and added bits and pieces to it throughout the two years. They didn’t meet to work on it together until McGraw sang on the track.
“I just got it going pretty good and they took it and ran with it,” he said. “I really didn’t think about singing it with them until they asked me to at the very end.”
But longtime fans shouldn’t worry too much. McGraw didn’t record a bunch of hard rock songs for his latest album. The album is being mixed, and it should be released in the fall.
“I think I might have if I could have written any (rock songs),” he said and laughed, “or if I had found any that would have worked for me.”
McGraw said he was excited to record the album with his touring band, the Dancehall Doctors, rather than use studio musicians (something McGraw’s done before but that’s a rarity for country musicians) and also said the songs have some good messages.
“Every album we go a little deeper,” he said.
McGraw will play three songs from the upcoming album at the Stampede concert. He doesn’t think those songs, unlike the one he did with Def Leppard, will surprise any of his fans.
“I like to think I throw a little curveball on every album,” he said. “But it’ll still be me.”
TO GO:
• Tim McGraw headlines with Halfway to Hazard and Lance Miller
• 7:30 p.m. Sunday, June 29, at the Greeley Stampede, Island Grove Arena.
• Tickets are $57-$92.
• Call 356-7787 or go to www.ticketswest.com or www.greeleystampede.org.
————— | Only registered users can write comments.
Please login or register. |
|
|  | "Humankind cannot gain anything without first giving something in return. To obtain, something of equal value must be lost. That is Alchemy's first law of Equivalent Exchange. In those days, we really believed that to be the world's one, and only truth." | |
|  | We're not that bright, even though in our own little world, we're geniuses. We like 80s hair bands and one-hit wonders, but among us we have respectable tastes, too. Metallica, Iron Maiden, U2. Pursuit of all things trivial is a lifestyle, not just a game. We like some sports, love other sports, and can find something to say about anything. We watch TV and movies and we've read a book or two, even a few classics (Yes, Classic Comics count!)
We call it insight, you call it what you will. | |
|  | Felix Wong is an outdoor enthusiast living in Fort Collins. A mechanical engineer by day, he is especially passionate about bicycling, running, and backpacking. | |
|  | Hola Amigos! I'm Sandra. I like to believe that people are 70 percent good and 30 percent dumb. I'm stickin to that story. Reading this blog might make you want to be good, but probably just dumb. | |
|  | Donovan Henderson is editor of NEXTnc. | |
|  | Here at Nextnc we have some characters. Get a sneak peak behind the curtain and find out what amusing antics our staffers get themselves into on a weekly basis. | |
|  | What is up FoCo?
I am a recent college graduate of Minnesota State University Moorhead. After recieving my B.A. in English and Mass Communications this past August I moved down to Colorado.
I enjoy long walks on the beach, candlelight dinners, and heavy metal. My hobbies include reading and writing, music, movies, and getting drunk. Some of my favorite contemporary authors include Bret Easton Ellis, Chuck Palahniuk, and Kurt Vonnegut. My top movies are anything directed by Kubrick. I enjoy listening to anything that rocks.
Right now I am just trying to get to know Colorado and FoCo better. Mostly in order to find the best drink specials on each day that ends in Y. So if you know where I can get a cheap drunk on, let me know!
--Drew | |
|  | Life's little morsels of inspiration, observation and encouragement seen through the eyes of the Nextnc reporter.
| |
|  | Ms. Giles currently lives in Colorado where she stars in her own private reality show. She writes aphoristic accounts of her life, taken completely out of context, and embellished with characters and situations disguised to resemble something close to interesting. | |
|  | over and out | |
| | My name is Michelle Turley and I'm 28 years old. I live in Severance with my hubbie, Brandon. We have 2 dogs and a cat. We enjoy camping, four-wheeling, and just being in the mountains. I like to cook, clean (go figure), flea market, and play poker. I have so much to say about poker... | |
|
|
