Keith Anderson

Real-life grit

Courtesy Anderson’s sound is somewhere between country and rock. His lyrics are pure country, but the music is closer to rock.

By MATT ELLIOTT World Scene Writer
4/20/2007

Keith Anderson became a star the old fashioned way -- he earned it

Keith Anderson didn't become the country artist he is today by winning a contest.

He did it the old fashioned way. The Miami, Okla., native rolled up his considerable sleeves, left behind a construction career and spent the last 10 years or so performing in Nashville bars, befriending big-name songwriters and honing his own song craft.

Gretchen Wilson recorded one of his songs ("The Bed") and he befriended John Rich from Big & Rich, co-writing songs with him. Then the labels came calling.

But when his two-year-old Arista Records debut, "Three Chord Country and American Rock & Roll" went gold, he didn't forget how he did it. His band packed the Third and Lindsley Bar & Grill one more time and Anderson came armed with a thick book of people to thank.

"There's an old bar that we played every week or two weeks for about two years when I was trying to get my record deal, just trying to create a buzz and just trying to get people to notice what we were doing."

When he first started playing the bar, maybe 20 people would show up. But by the end of that period, folks lined up out the door to see Anderson.

This week, he performed at the Grand Ole Opry Tuesday and he wraps the week up with a Saturday show at Tulsa's Cain's Ballroom.

His ballroom show is probably the best deal you'll get on a concert by a performer of his stature: Tickets are $9.98 at the door. He tries to keep his ticket prices low so fans can see his shows, but the other side of that means that he has to play more shows to make money. So it's harder work.

"For us, it's all about the fans and all about being accessible to the fans and trying to meet them before and after the show and making the ticket prices as low and as available as you can."

Anderson's sound is somewhere between country and rock. His lyrics are pure country, he said, but his harmonies and guitars are closer to rock.

What sets the 38-year-old Oklahoma State University graduate apart from his peers is that he writes and performs his own songs. Not only does that help his pocketbook, it adds some honesty to his music.

The connection he feels to his home town and state were made clear last November, when Anderson returned to Miami to film the video for the single "Podunk."

The song, about drinking down on the river and nights spent cruising the main drag, was filmed during a free concert there, using people from his hometown instead of actors. His parents still live in Miami.

"We tell stories about my hometown everywhere we go and people relate to it. I think small town life, no matter where you go, is small town life."

The former baseball player, landscaper, personal trainer and model is also in the midst of recording his follow up disc. He jokingly described the album, produced by Jeffrey Steele (author of Collin Raye's "Couldn't Last a Moment"), as "rap polka."

"No, it's kind of more of the same," Anderson said. "But I mean, a lot of people are saying the word on the street is that it's a little more, uhh, a little more . . . I don't know . . . I hate to use the word 'mature' . . .

"The album as a whole is going to be just like the first -- a lot of fun, upbeat party songs, a lot of just rowdy fun."

That said, Anderson does his share of serious stuff, such as the song "Plan B" from his debut about altering life's direction due to major obstacles

He had just delivered the album's first single, "Sunday Morning in America," to radio stations when he was interviewed last week. Anderson warns fans: The song might just throw you for a loop.

"Some people look at that title and go, 'Here we go again.' But, it's not one of those beat-your-chest, we're America and we're going to kick your butt, we're the greatest people on Earth things.

"It's kind of like Springsteen or Mellencamp, the way they would sing about America. It's just real-life grit."

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KEITH ANDERSON

When: 6 p.m., Saturday, with opener Mary Cogan

Where: Cain's Ballroom, 423 N. Main St.

Tickets: $5.98 in advance, $9.98 day of show, available at Cain's Box Office 584-2306

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Classmate says Anderson was always headed for the top

Tulsa musician Greg Klaus thought it seemed a little far-fetched when he heard his former high school classmate Keith Anderson was headed for Nashville to pursue his dreams.

The competition there is sort of tough -- the city is packed with guys chasing that vision of their names in lights. But, that was 10 years ago, at Klaus's 10-year reunion when he learned the news.

That was 10 years before Anderson had a gold-selling album and had written a song performed by Gretchen Wilson.

"It sounded far-fetched 10 years ago. It's like, 'Well, good luck at that.' But, obviously he had a plan and made it work."

At the time, Anderson had just left Texas to try his hand at Nashville and Klaus was performing with the Tulsa band Social Butterfly. Klaus has known Anderson since he was a kid. The hit-making country singer even appears in one of Klaus's childhood birthday photos. The two graduated in 1986.

"He was just a really good, well-rounded guy. He was the type of guy that lettered in three sports, was an A student, played in the band," Klaus said. "I don't think he was a partier or anything like that. I never saw him take a drink until our 20-year reunion here last summer."

Anderson, whose parents still live in Miami, was definitely with the in-crowd in high school but wasn't a snob, said Klaus, now the singer of the band Mudville, a local nickname for Miami.

"He didn't fit into the stereotypical jock role."

Klaus and Anderson, then a drummer, faced off during a talent show their senior year. Their bands were the only two in the show.

"This is the '80s and Heart was really popular. They did one of the current Heart hits really well, had a girl singer."

Anderson is an avid weightlifter these days but wasn't as beefy back then as he is now. But, he has the same drive to succeed at whatever he seeks to do, Klaus said.

By MATT ELLIOTT World Scene Writer