Interview with Trace Adkins, Country Music Superstar

If you are a country music fan, than you without a doubt know who Trace Adkins is. I have always been a fan of Trace Adkins, therefore when I found out I had the opportunity to interview Trace Adkins I was thrilled. Trace had his debut in 1996 and has since gone on to make an amazing mark in the country music genre.

Between 1996 and 2008, Trace has had more than twenty singles on the Billboard country music charts. Trace has recorded nine albums, two of which are greatest hits albums. All but two of Trace's albums have been certified gold or higher.

Some of Trace Adkins more popular songs are, Every Light in the House, (This ain't) No Thinking Thing, Arlington, Honky Tonk Badonkadonk, and Swing among many others. Trace has been very busy and has more coming his way. He recently released "American Man, Greatest Hits Volume II", wrote a book and is on Celebrity Apprentice, and his 2008 tour starts January 24^th. Here is my interview with country music superstar, Trace Adkins.

December 4^th you released another CD, "American Man, Greatest Hits Volume II", "You're Gonna Miss This," is one of three new songs included on the album. It is already another Top 30 hit, how does it feel knowing you are still making hits, in the fickle music world that the fans still love?

Trace - Well, that's great, you just never know. You hope for the best and prepare yourself for the worst.

Which song on the album is your favorite?

Trace - Oh my goodness that would be hard, I try not to pick favorites. It's like picking a favorite kid, I can't do that.

January 24th you start the 2008 Trace Adkins American Man Tour, who are going to be some of the acts with you on the tour?

Trace - Jason Michael Carroll, Kellie Pickler, Bucky Covington, Bill Engvall and Luke Bryan, he's one of my label mates.

Celebrity Apprentice is airing now. It was prerecorded and you are on the show, how was this experience and what made you decide to do the show?

Trace - Well I only did the show to raise awareness for this charity that I'm involved with. I had no other reason do it. My careers fine, I didn't need to do that.

How was the experience?

Trace - It was fun, some days were fun, other days not so much. It was a exercise in restraint actually.

You have a book out "A Personal Stand: Observations and Opinions from a Freethinking Roughneck", what made you decide to write this book?

Trace - Well really it was in an attempt to get everyone to shut up that was urging me to do it. Over the years I have had a lot of people trying to get me to and I hadn't really felt the desire to do it. Finally they just turned up the volume enough. Another reason was to get my autobiography out there.

Are there any surprises in the book?

Trace - Not for me.

What message do you hope others will get from reading the book?

Trace - Personal responsibility, that's why the book is called "A Personal Stand." We are a nation of whiners. Everybody is good at identifying the problems but then we just whine about it. "Oh that's a problem; I wish somebody would so something about that." Instead of trying to take action in our own personal ways, if we would all do that a lot of these problems could be fixed.

Your first number one hit was (This ain't) No Thinking Thing, in 1996.Do you remember where you were and how it felt with that first hit?

Trace - Yeah, I was in a casino up around Michigan somewhere. There was a tiny little casino up there and I was playing the lounge that night, there was like seventy-five people there, I was on stage and I said " Well it's a big day for me I found out we got our first #1 record" and they looked at me like, Yea right.

Do you still feel the same excitement with each new hit that you have?

Trace - I think more so now. The first one was cool but it had just come out and I didn't really know what to expect. That was my third single and it went number one and I thought, Ok they'll all go number one now. Well it doesn't work that way. So I would say it means even more now then that first one did. Because I have found out just how hard it is to get another one.

Do you ever miss the privacy you had before the fame?

Trace - Yes sometimes. But that's the way it is.

Who are you musical influences?

Trace - I have a lot. Basically the same everyone else has. Merle Haggard, George Jones, Ed Bruce, Ronnie Milsap, him probably more than anybody else. I had a lot of them and southern rock bands.

What do you enjoy doing in your free time?

Trace - Working on my farm, cutting trees, that kind of stuff.

Do you have any advice for anyone starting in the music business?

Trace - Yeah, make sure you have a good job to fall back on. Something else you can do. Because there are long, long odds in this business, a lot more fail than succeed