Country-music fans have always valued authenticity. To be credible, musicians must live what they sing and stay in touch with the everyday lives of regular folks.
Steve Azar can point to his upbringing in the Mississippi Delta, where he found his love of music. If they made a movie of Azar's life, the scene would be played as a grainy flashback: the young man listening to blues and jazz musicians as they jam behind his father's liquor store.
Like most country musicians, Azar remains true to listeners by singing about the things they know. In the heyday of Waylon and Cash, this might have meant writing tunes about prison and booze -- but these days, country music has changed themes to match the lives of its fans. Waitin' on Joe (Mercury Records, 2000) is just a slice of everyday life, offering nods to frustrations like work, money woes and, like the Joe of the album's title track, always being late.
Admitting that he's neither a blues nor a jazz musician, Azar nevertheless says the liquor-store congregations birthed in him a love for and dedication to music that drove him to school talent contests, writing songs for his church group, and singing at any community event that would let him on-stage. His musical forays introduced him to the music of country legends and blue-collar songwriters alike and coaxed him into town to catch shows at local clubs. After forming the Steve Azar Band, he threw himself into a grueling touring schedule that matched his determination to succeed, playing nearly 250 shows a year at whatever venues would have him. The touring life took its toll, however, with tragic consequences for some of Azar's band mates: imprisonment for one, suicide for another. After his band dissolved, Azar moved to Nashville, signed on with a label that has since gone under, and released an album to little critical acclaim.
Unwilling to quit, Azar continued writing songs and eventually met Rafe Van Hoy, who produced and shares songwriting credits for Waitin' on Joe. Azar repeatedly praises Van Hoy for refining his musical style, bringing out the songs Azar wanted to sing. "It was exactly how I'd always wanted to be recorded," he has said. Waitin' on Joe has been earning praise throughout the country-music scene, with write-ups in industry and fan magazines. The album's first single, "I Don't Have to Be Me (Til Monday)," has cracked the top five on the country charts.
"Azar is the kind of new artist country music needs right now," gushes Billboard magazine -- and the Nashville music-industry magazine Music Row proclaims that this is Azar's "time to shine." With its pop sensibilities and catchy hooks, Waitin' on Joe is a good fit with contemporary-country radio. Unlike some of the bigger names in country, however, Azar relies on real instrumentation. Instead of turning to thick, string-laden keyboards, the album sticks to more traditional sounds like steel guitars. The songs wind dynamically from electric to acoustic, and regional influences pop up unexpectedly, like the Cajun-laden "One Good Reason Why." (Prediction: the upbeat, high-energy "Goin' to Beat the Devil (To See my Angel Tonight)" will be a crowd pleaser for country fans and street dancers alike.) Since releasing Waitin' on Joe earlier this year, Azar has been anxious to perform the album live, wanting to see what happens to the songs in front of an audience. "To me, a record isn't really finished until you've taken it on the road," he once noted. "That's the greatest feeling there is. That's when you know it works."
Commenters email addresses are never displayed. Please do not insert HTML code.
To create a live link, simply type the URL (without http://) and it will be active.
There are no comments for this entry.
