Trace Adkins Talks Heroes and Hillbillies

Trace Adkins has scaled the country charts with more than 20 hits, including the No. 1's '(This Ain't) No Thinkin' Thing,' 'Ladies Love Country Boys,' and 'You're Gonna Miss This,' and the recent hits, 'Marry for Money' and 'All I Ask for Anymore,' which is currently nearing the Top 10.

The singer has a lot on his plate these days, having spent the better part of this year on the road with his buddy Toby Keith on their America's Toughest Tour. Trace has also teamed up with Blake Shelton on Blake's new single 'Hillbilly Bone,' and has just embarked on a whirlwind trek, the Shine All Night tour with Martina McBride. As if all of that were not enough, Trace has become bona fide comic book action hero 'Luke McBain,' in a four-issue series featuring a "tough Southern hero" based on Trace himself.

Trace spoke to The Boot the day after the CMA Awards -- and he did have something to say about who was missing in action there. He also discusses his heroes, friends and the one legendary musician who left him awestruck.

Your new song 'All I Ask for Anymore,' is an emotional ballad and the video is a true tear-jerker. How did that song fall in your lap?

The song was co-written by a friend of mine, Casey Beathard. I've recorded several of Casey's songs. There's just sometimes when Casey writes a song, and he knows it's right for me, and that was just one of those songs. That was the first time I had ever gone into the studio and recorded a song, and on my way home, I called the songwriter. I had never done that before. I called Casey that day and I said, "Man, I just wanted to call you because, for my money I think I just recorded the most beautiful ballad that I've ever done." I thought that much of the song. That's how it happened.

The video has you standing behind a chain-link fence, and slowly we see husbands, wives and children join you. And at the end, the military folks are getting off an airplane, obviously returning home from war. The clip has to have special meaning for you.



In my experience, doing USO tours and things, one of the things you learn about those [military] men and women -- and I don't know that enough people are aware of it -- that really what they're concerned with when they're over there is how their families are doing back home. That's what monopolizes their thoughts. And it's really a humbling thing to know that here these people are in a combat zone and the main thing they're worried about is how their wife and kids are doing back home. That's what they want to talk about. I just thought it was fitting. We wanted to pay tribute.

Your song 'Marry for Money' on your album 'X (Ten)' sounds like a good idea on paper. The divorce rate is over 50%. Would you ever marry for money?

[Laughs] Sure! Well, you know, I'm just honestly answering your question. God forbid anything ever happened, and I was in that situation where I was presented with that opportunity ... [but] I very possibly might do that.

You just finished up a tour with your buddy Toby Keith. Did you find out anything about him that you didn't know before?

I've known Toby for a long time, so no ... other than the fact that I wasn't aware that Toby's show has taken on an almost Jimmy Buffett, Grateful Dead, Hank Williams Jr. kind of thing where his fans are just super-dedicated. His shows are an event. They're not just a concert. It's an all-encompassing event. People show up before his shows and tailgate like they're going to a football game.



You're now-headlining with Martina McBride on tour. How do you respond to people who say, 'Trace and Martina, that's a novelty pairing'?

I'd just probably say, "Yes, I guess it is."



Let's talk about Luke McBain. How do you feel about being an "action hero"?



I was hesitant at first and flattered, and now a little embarrassed. It's been a lot of fun but the process was just ... I don't want people to get the idea that this idea came from me. It did not. That's why I'm a little embarrassed by it. I don't want people to think that this is my brainchild. These guys approached me and said, "We want to do this comic book, and it's kind of going to be you as this character, like you're acting in a movie." It took a moment for me to wrap my head around that. Then they went through the storyline and got responses from me, asked me how I would react in certain situations and what would I say. So we kind of went through that, and I just went on about my business and kind of forgot about it -- and the next thing I know, there's the comic book.



How is Luke McBain like Trace Adkins?



[Laughs] He's a man of few words. He talks softly and carries a big stick.



Are you shy by nature?

I am, yes. [In a crowd] I tend to hide in a corner. And I think sometimes -- I actually wrote about that in my book ['A Personal Stand: Observations and Opinions from a Freethinking Roughneck'] -- that it's been misinterpreted, I think, as me being standoffish or antisocial, or whatever. What people don't understand, it's just plain old shyness. There's nothing egotistical or sinister behind it. Alan Jackson is the same way. People think that Alan is kind of standoffish, but I know Alan. He's painfully shy.



Your new song/music video with Blake Shelton, 'Hillbilly Bone,' is hilarious! It's about two good ol' country boys mingling in an upscale restaurant with high society. Your song 'Hillbilly Rich' from the album 'X' has a similar theme. Did you ever feel inferior in that kind of high society crowd?

I don't feel inferior. I feel out of place and uncomfortable a lot of times. I never feel inferior. I may internally ask the question, "What are you doing here? It's not your gig. It's not where you should be."

What was the hardest thing you had to learn about the business of making music?

That a lot of it is political. That's an unfortunate part of it – that politics plays such a big role in it.



Who do you think is the most underrated artist in country music?

Wow! That's a really tough question. I would say, given what I've seen this year, firsthand, and then knowing who was recognized and honored at the CMA Awards, I would have to say Toby Keith. To command the venues that he performs at and fill them up -- he continually has radio success, he's always at the top of the charts on radio. And then to just get completely ignored by the CMA is reprehensible.



Who do you think is the most overrated artist in country music?



Oh my God, now you're going to try to get me in trouble. [Laughs] I could go down the list of a few, but I won't do that.

You went through a temporary period of depression a few years ago. What caused it and what or who helped you out of it?

Well, I think I was misdiagnosed back many years ago as being clinically depressed, when the truth was I was just an alcoholic. It was amazing how when I dealt with the alcoholism that the depression mysteriously went away. I think that was the deal with me.

Not many people are shot through the heart and survive. (Trace's ex-wife shot him several years ago.) Do you ever think of your own mortality, and what it must be like after this life is over?

I don't dwell on that. Sure, I think about my mortality, and I when I think about that, the thing that is foremost in my mind is not where I'm going but how are my children going to be set up. Am I preparing them in the proper way?



Aside from getting married and having children, what's been the single happiest moment in your life so far?

Wow! The night that I became a member of the Grand Ole Opry, I guess. It was just such a huge honor and feeling of acceptance being asked into a storied and historic institution like that. It was something that I took very seriously and still take very seriously. It was such a huge night for me. Ronnie Milsap inducted me. It was great. I asked for him. Little Jimmy [Dickens] came out on stage one night when I was performing at the Opry and asked me if I would like to become a member, and of course I said yes. A couple of weeks later they had the official [induction] ... it was a Saturday night at the Opry, and Ronnie Milsap was the one. They asked me who I would like to have make me a member of the Grand Ole Opry, and I said Ronnie Milsap.

Have you ever turned down a song that was a hit for somebody else?

The first one I can recall is a song called 'Night to Remember,' and Joe Diffie had a hit with that. And I've had a couple of songs that I passed on that Gary Allan had hits with. I can't even remember what those were now by title. And then the most recent one was 'In Color.' I actually cut 'In Color,' and then Jamey [Johnson] approached me and said he got a record deal and they wanted 'In Color' to be his first single and could he have it back? I said, 'Sure.'

'You're Gonna Miss This' is a very touching song. What have you missed most in your life so far?

Well, the little things that are really the big things, a child's first steps or their first words. Because of what I've done for a living, it requires me to be gone a lot, and I'm not unlike a multitude of other people in this country. I'm not in that boat by myself of course, but I would say that would be what I've missed.

When you were first starting out in the music business, did you give yourself a time limit to become a well-known name or superstar in the business?



Yeah, I had a cut-off date, and if I hadn't made it by [then], I was going to go back to work in the oil field and enjoy my life. I enjoyed working in the oil field and would have been content. I moved to Nashville in '92 and got a record deal in '93, so it wasn't an incredibly long time. Sometimes it takes years and sometimes it never happens so you never know when to give up.

In all of your years in the business, who's made you the most starstruck?

I would just say there have been a lot of people ... legends and men that I've idolized in all different walks of life, not just in the music business. It would be hard for me to just pick one, but I remember one time I was within 10 feet of Ray Charles and could not even bring myself to impose on the man and shake his hand. I was just so in awe of him. I will always regret that I didn't take advantage of that opportunity. So the next time I was presented with a situation like that, I was in a restaurant in L.A., and [actor] Robert Duvall was across the way, and I thought I'm not going to let that happen to me again. So I just got up and walked across there and introduced myself ... because I'm a huge Robert Duvall fan. And so that Ray Charles thing was a lesson to me.

What would you consider none of my business?

I don't know. What kind of toothpaste I use? I don't hide much. Fortunately, I just don't have to.