FAYETTEVILLE — Country music artist Eric Church never tries to be something he's not.
Church is a singer-songwriter who said his music is authentic, representative of who he is and what he thinks.
"It's true to who I am, and I think that our fans like that," he said.
Church will perform a free concert Tuesday at the Chi Omega Greek Theatre at the University of Arkansas. His song, "Love Your Love the Most," is climbing up the Billboard country charts. Other popular songs include "How 'Bout You," "Two Pink Lines" and "Guys Like Me." Church's opener will be Justin Moore, who currently has a hit country song called "Small Town USA."
Church headlined his first tour in the spring, which was called the "Young and Wild Tour." He said it had such success that he wanted to do a fall tour titled the "Young and Wild(er) Tour."
"Obviously with the name, I can't get younger, so it's up to me to get wilder," he said.
One way he got wilder on this tour was by breaking his foot. He has been on crutches for a few shows and recently got a walking boot. He hasn't been able to be as mobile on stage, but he said it hasn't hindered him from having a good show. He said he's giving everything he has, "including body parts." He said he'sbefore and is excited to come back to see the crowd.
Church is originally from Granite Falls, N.C., but moved to Nashville, Tenn., shortly after college to pursue a country music career. His first record, "Sinners Like Me," came out in 2006, and his latest album, "Carolina," debuted in March.
He said he writes about real situations that he and his friends have gone through, such as a song from the first album about teen pregnancy called "Two Pink Lines." He said he thinks a lot of musicians might have shied away from this subject matter, buthe sees it as "one of those things I thought people needed to hear about."
Church said his first album's subject matter was moody and the music had a darkness to it. At the time, he was a singleguy who was "rough around the edges," he said. "Carolina" is a little brighter of an album, which he credits to being older and married now. He said there are happier spots, and it is a bit more melodic.
"I think, for me, the trick is you have to keep making records that aredifferent records but that are still true to who you are," he said.
His favorite song he has recorded is "Carolina," which is also the name of his second album. He said he wrote "Carolina" while driving through North Carolina when his schedule didn't permit him to stop inthe town he grew up in.
He said the song is not specifically about North Carolina but about home, no "matter where you're from," and missing it after being away for a long time, he said. The song is the focal point of the record, and the rest of the album was built around it, he said.
Other
favorites are
"Lightning"
and "Those
I've Loved
Along the
Way." The lat
ter is the last
track on "Car
olina," and
Church said
the last song
on a record is always a special one. He said he tries each of his songs outthere to see which one holds the most meaning in that "painstaking spot," which is the last thing fans will hear on the album.
"I'm asking the person to listen from start to finish, and the last thing I want to leave them with is that song," he said.
Entertainment, Pages 13 on 09/25/2009