Keith Urban Was a Heavy Metal Reject!

In a "Five Questions" video for the Academy of Country Music, one of the things Entertainer of the Year nominee Keith Urban was asked was, "What's the craziest thing you ever did as a fan?" Turns out he lost a gig because of his devotion to the style of a particular guitar player!

"I had about five Ricky Skaggs albums when I was about 15 or 16," Keith says. 'Highways and Heartaches' had just come out around that time, so I was playing that one repeatedly. Albert Lee played guitar on one of the records, and another guy named Ray Flacke. I was learning all these solos from Ray Flacke."

The problem with that, it turns out, is that Keith had a part-time gig with a heavy metal band. "I was in the band for about a week. They asked me to join and I said, "Well, I've never done that, I'll give that a try." So, I'm playing in this heavy metal band and every time a solo came around, I'd bust out these Ricky Skaggs solos. And I got fired! It's the only thing I've ever been fired from."

Keith's not auditioning for any heavy metal gigs these days, but he continues to hone his guitar skills on the Escape Together World Tour.