Trent Tomlinson Trades Parties for Parenting

Four years ago when Trent Tomlinson broke out onto the country music scene, he quickly turned heads with his beer drinkin,' honky tonk party songs like 'Drunker Than Me' and 'The Next Time' from his 'Country Is My Rock' album. His upcoming project, 'A Guy Like Me,' shows the softer side of the newly-married father.

"My life has changed dramatically in the past year and a half," Trent tells The Boot. "I got married and have a brand new baby girl (Harleigh Alexyia born Jan. 14, 2008). I have a lot more things to talk about. I'm a guy who tells his life at that moment.

"The first record I was on a path to destruction," he continues with laughter. "Now, I have a brand new outlook on life, because I have this baby girl. It's not about me anymore. It's about taking care of myself and making sure I'm around this earth for her for years to come."

Like his debut album, Trent co-wrote all 11 songs on 'A Guy Like Me,' this time teaming up with many of Nashville's top songwriters including Bobby Pinson, Harley Allen, Tom Shapiro and Monty Powell.

"I went back to a bunch of poignant issues about my hometown," he explains. "Every song on this album has a specific purpose and is autobiographical in my life -- from child to now."

One song in particular that Trent holds close to his heart is 'Henry Cartwright's Produce Stand.'

"There's this one particular guy in my hometown who sells produce on the street," notes Trent. "He sits on the east side of town just past the golf course and has a produce stand. I call it a stand, but really it's a pickup truck parked halfway in a drainage ditch with the tailgate down and the bed filled with some of the best produce money can buy. This guy has always been one of the fixtures in my mind when I think of my hometown. If this guy didn't see you in church the Sunday before, he would tell you all about what you missed. It wasn't pay-and-go; it was pay-and-listen."

The album's title track is a song Trent wrote upon finding out his wife, Jessica, was pregnant with Harleigh and all the emotions that ran through his head.

"My mind went immediately to 'Oh my....'" he says with a crooked smile. "God is paying me back! All I could think about is 17 years from now when some guy is gonna be knocking on my door to take my daughter out. I know exactly how I was at that age and what I was after. I pretty much bluntly put it to song and told it exactly how it is at 17 years old. The hook of the song is I pray to God my little girl never brings home a guy like me."

'A Guy Like Me' is expected in stores next June. Trent's digital EP, featuring three of the albums' tracks, is available now. Download it here.