Payne County Line Oklahoma Music News

Wednesday, August 5, 2009

Keith Anderson headed to Ashtabula County

By SHELLEY TERRY - Staff Writer - sterry@starbeacon.com
Star Beacon

ASHTABULA August 03, 2009 11:28 pm

— Life is interesting for country music singer Keith Anderson.
How could it be any other way for somebody who’s touring the country, singing hit songs and meeting face to face with adoring fans?
“Anytime you travel and meet with fans, it’s great,” Anderson said Monday during a phone interview with the Star Beacon. “They have called radio stations and requested my songs. Now, I want to meet them and find out more about them.”
Anderson will perform at 8 p.m. Aug. 15 at the Ashtabula County Fair.
“I can’t wait; my concerts are high-energy,” said the 36-year-old Grammy winner. “We try to get everybody interacting with us.”
One of Anderson’s favorite songs to perform is “I’ll Know When I Get There.”
As for his hit “XXL” (”Double XL”), there is some truth to those lyrics, said the 6-foot-1-inch-tall singer-songwriter.
“I come from a big family. My dad is 320 pounds. I have an uncle who weighs 300 and an aunt who is about 400 pounds,” he said. “I have girl cousins who are bigger than me! You can get hugged really tight in my family.”
Because of genetics, Anderson works out every day.
“I’m trying to get smaller, not bigger,” he said.
Although Anderson always loved music, as a child growing up in Oklahoma, he wanted to be a professional athlete. He didn’t pick up a guitar until his teen years. He played baseball while pursuing a bachelor’s degree in engineering from Oklahoma State. He excelled in sports and academics. He graduated top in his class with a 3.9 grade point average.
The Kansas City Royals recruited Anderson, but a shoulder injury put a damper on a professional baseball career.
Anderson moved to Nashville in early 1998 and took a job as a waiter. What he lacked in food-service skills, he made up for in people skills. Some early songwriting opportunities opened doors, and he wrote songs for several country artists, including Gretchen Wilson, Big & Rich, and Garth Brooks, before being discovered for his own singing abilities.
In his off time, Anderson likes to go mountain biking, and yes, girls, he is single.
“It sounds exciting until they realize what life is like on a touring bus,” he said when teased about his popularity with female fans.
When his personal portable audio device is on and he doesn’t want to listen to country, he listens to Bon Jovi and Aerosmith.
He likes dogs but doesn’t own one right now because of his touring, he said.
All and all, Anderson is having the time of his life this summer, and he’s planning on sharing the party with his northeast Ohio fans. For any country music fan living within driving distance of Ashtabula County, that means the fair is the place to be Aug. 15.