Colt Ford Insists He’s Country to the Core

Colt Ford may not be among the mainstream but he insists he's an authentic country artist -- even if radio doesn't agree.

"I was just at the [CMA Awards], and one of the snootier, big-label radio people was wearing $300 blue jeans and telling me I wasn't country because I don't play traditional country music," Colt tells North Carolina's Asheville-Citizen Times newspaper. "To that I said, 'Hell, you don't play traditional country music on your station. If you look at my lyrics and don't think I'm country, then I reckon you and me are just from two different parts of the country.'"

Colt's innovative music has already earned him an appearance on the Grand Ole Opry stage, a tour with Hank Williams Jr., and a Top 10 album. Known for his humorous songs like 'No Trash in My Trailer' and 'Chicken and Biscuits,' Colt says his music brings a much-needed form of entertainment that crosses genre lines.

"Our show is a full-throttle roller-coaster ride that don't stop for an hour and a half," he maintains. "We have a lot of fun and raise a little hell so people leave feeling they got their money's worth ... We mix it up and have a good time. You might hear a little 'Devil Went Down to Georgia' or a little David Allan Coe," Brown said. "If you don't have fun at my show, you might want to go over to your local hospital and have them check you out."

His live shows are a far cry from the advice he received when he was just getting started. "All these people in Nashville said I needed to get a DJ and a midget up on stage, and I said, 'Y'all are crazy as hell. That's not who I am,'" he states. "I'll put our live show, honestly, up against anybody in music, not just country music."

He may have a distinct sound, labeled by some as "hick-hop" because of his rap-infused songs, but Colt takes offense to those who label him anything but a country singer. "I don't like people calling me a country rapper." he tells The Boot. "I asked people, 'Did you call Johnny Cash a country rapper, or Charlie Daniels or Toby Keith 'I Wanna Talk About Me?' Is he a country rapper? No. That is exactly what I do. I get in that argument. They say, 'Well, you don't sing.' Well, Aerosmith sings, are they country? Is KISS a country group? They sing ... No! Well, stop saying that. They're just saying it out of knee-jerk reaction. If you give me a valid argument, hell, I'll listen. But don't make up something that's not real, because it's different."