Jason Aldean turns club gigs into music success

NASHVILLE, Tennessee  -- Jason Aldean hasn't been tagged as a musical rebel but he might be -- he records his rock-tinged country albums on an independent label.

The rugged Georgia native has sold more than 3.5 million records in his five-year career and has hit No. 1 on the country singles charts for longer than any other country artist over the past 15 months.

After playing in clubs since he was 14, he now has his fourth album, "My Kinda Party," coming out on Broken Bow Records; an independent label which he says allows him to record songs that fit his personality, mixing a little southern rock and soul with a lot of country.

The Washington Post praised one track, "Dirt Road Anthem," as a distinctive "redneck rap song," but summed up the remainder of the album as "likable but Nashville boilerplate" and panned Aldean's "limited range."

Aldean, 33, talked with Reuters shortly before the release of the album this week.

Q: How did you so soon become a major country music star?

A: "The fact that we had success and had it on our terms is one thing that gives me lot of confidence. When I was signed to Capitol Records early in my career they wanted me to change everything, from the way I looked to the way I could record. After I signed with Broken Bow, they gave me the freedom to record what I felt comfortable with, and be the way I wanted to be.

"I've been playing in clubs since I was 14 years old. I was 28 before I had my first hits. So I spent half my life working in clubs and I had to figure out really quick what worked and what didn't in order to entertain people. You have to be confident on stage, but not cocky. Growing up in those clubs was one of the best things that ever happened to me."

Q.: You have 15 tunes on your new CD. Why?

A: "These days everybody is trying to figure out how to sell records because people are downloading single songs instead of buying albums. If you can give them an album with 15 songs for $12, instead of them paying $17 for 15 individual songs, then they'll buy the whole album."

Q: Your song "Dirt Road Anthem" has a rap in the middle. Is rapping new for you?

A: "My single 'She's Country' had a bit of that rap feel to it. When I first heard that song I wasn't sure if I could do it because of how rapid-fire the words were. You know, I'm from Georgia and we talk kind of slow down there.

"'Dirt Road' is the same way . . . the demo was even faster than the way we did it. Even though it's still fast I think we found that niche. It's also the coolest thing on the record as far as I'm concerned."

Q: Your music has an edge to it, yet how you remain true to your roots with songs like "Fly Over States"?

A: "I grew up in Georgia, on the outskirts of Macon, surrounded by a lot of farmland. That's what I know. For any artist, if you can sing about things you've experienced . . .then you can convey that message to your fans.

"(For instance) that song "Fly Over States" -- I heard those kinds of comments when I was flying out to promote my music. I'd hear businessmen from one of the coasts comment as we flew over some small town, "I wonder why anyone would want to live there?"

Q: You have a first with your duet with former "American Idol" winner Kelly Clarkson. Did you expect that?

A: "When I heard that song, I thought if there's ever a song we can pull off as a duet, this is it. I could hear only two people singing on it -- Kelly Clarkson or Carrie Underwood. I'm a fan of both their voices.

"When (Clarkson) sang that first note it was like, "Oh my god, this is going to be good."