Dierks Bentley Brings The Heat From Nashville To The North!

Dierks Bentley is more than meets the eye, but what does meet the eye is pretty darn hard not to look at. His presence is warm, inviting and you feel like you just sat down with an old friend. Kat and I sat down to talk to the country music star when he was in Toronto promoting his new album, Modern Day Drifter. The lead track off the album,"A lot of Leavin' Left to do" made us wonder where the song came from. Pretty self explanatory to some, a guy leavin' a lot of women, but Dierks shared with us that his career is what takes precedence right now and that is where his focus lies. That and with all of his fans around the world, of course. Dierks has recently sold his house, "Being on the road so much, I am hardly in one place too long, it just made sense to sell". Another ode to leavin'. So with a house sold, no "nest", is there space for someone in your life or was there someone? Dierks doesn't hesitate to give us the low-down dirty shame, "Well, there was someone special in my life and I did ask her to marry me.

What I was hoping for was a three letter answer and instead I got two", Dierks chuckles, "Actually it was more like four letters and then two, but anyway she said no". It seems that he manages to roll with the punches, not looking back on his past too much and make a song or two out of it all. Luckily, Kat and I were nice and close to Dierks should he have felt the need to cry on our shoulder. But, no need, he doesn't miss a beat and we move onto where it all started for Dierks.

Well, the long and short of it is, I grew up in Phoenix, Arizona with a lot of country music around me, my dad loved country music. One day, I heard Hank Williams Jr. singing about, I think he has a song called, "Naked Women and Beer" and I thought that this guy was pretty cool. Kat pipes in, "So that was your inspiration then?" Dierks gives us a hearty southern laugh, "Yeah, but I also was listening to Alan Jackson and Garth Brooks too". "Oh so were you at the concert when he asked Trisha Yearwood to marry him?", Kat asks. "Yeah, I was and I thought that was pretty cool and it was kinda nice to see that", says Dierks. Dierks continues on to tell us that it was many musical artists that influenced him to keep going. That and the fact that many people who heard him sing would say that he had a good voice. So Dierks took that as a good sign, took it with him and his guitar to Nashville when he was 19 yrs old. Dierks goes onto say, "Nashville is the place to be if you really want to make any head way as a country artist, So that is where I moved to."

Being so young and on his own, Dierks took just about any job he could get his hands on and played at any gig or venue he could. He even had a job at TNN, but stayed so below the radar that everyone just kind of leaves you alone. "Often times if someone would pass me by in the copy area or something, I would just be (ughh, ahhh) and most people would just leave you alone. Act frustrated and most people just stay away from you", chuckles Dierks."So that's how you would support yourself then," says Kat."Pretty much. That would give me my paycheque and I would play and write songs at night", Dierks lets out a sigh and eases back into the couch.

It is those very early years that has given him the discipline that drives the machine of Dierks Bentley. "I just dug in my heels and kept working!", Dierks continues on to say, "it's all about the music". www.dierks.com for more of that music, tour dates and press. Well, Dierks Bentley made Kat and I love country music a little bit more. His performance later that evening at CLUB 279 HARD ROCK CAFE, Toronto, made us go out and purchase the album, Now, even if you haven't caught Dierks Bentley in concert, no doubt you will soon, but in the meantime go out and buy his album- I am sure you will love him, I mean country, a little more!

For More Log onto: www.sugarcainentertainment.com

Orlena Cain - Entertainment Journalist for Sugarcain Entertainment.com An all female based E:Zine from Toronto, Ontario-Canada

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U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, left, waves to media as she arrives at Palam technical airport in New Delhi, India, Wednesday, Dec. 3, 2008. Rice arrived in New Delhi on Wednesday in Washington's effort to ease tensions in the region after a three-day terrorist attack that left 171 people dead in Mumbai. U.S. Ambassador to India David Mulford, center, and his wife Jeannie Mulford are also seen in the picture. (AP Photo/Gurinder Osan)AP - Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice arrived in New Delhi on Wednesday as part of a U.S. effort to ease tensions in the region after a three-day terrorist attack killed 171 people in India's financial capital.



Sen. Saxby Chambliss, R-Ga.,  gestures as he speaks during  an election-night party Tuesday, Dec. 2, 2008 in Atlanta. Chambliss defeated Democrat Jim Martin in a run off. (AP Photo/John Bazemore)AP - Georgia Republican Sen. Saxby Chambliss handed the GOP a firewall against Democrats eager to flex their newfound political muscle in Washington, winning a bruising runoff battle Tuesday night that had captured the national limelight.



Defense Secretary Robert Gates holds a press briefing at the Pentagon in Washington, Tuesday, Dec. 2, 2008. Gates said that U.S. and British citizens were the targets of the violent siege in Mumbai, although most of those killed in the city, the nation's financial capital, were Indians. He also said Tuesday that the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, Adm. Mike Mullen, had gone to the region to meet with officials.  (AP Photo/Lawrence Jackson)AP - Defense Secretary Robert Gates signaled a willingness Tuesday to forge ahead with two key priorities for the incoming Obama administration: accelerating the U.S. withdrawal from Iraq and shutting down the Guantanamo Bay detention center.



Trader David O'Day works on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange, Tuesday, Dec. 2, 2008. (AP Photo/Richard Drew)AP - The government must toughen its monitoring of the $700 billion financial bailout to ensure that banking institutions limit their top executives' pay and comply with other restrictions, federal auditors said Tuesday in the first comprehensive review of the rescue package.



In this handout photo provided by the Tracy Police Department, the booking mug for Michael Schumacher, 34, is shown. Schumacher, and wife Kelly Layne Lau, 30, were arrested late Monday, charged with torture and other counts after a bruised, terrified 17-year-old showed up at a gym with a chain locked to his ankle, claiming he had just fled his captors, authorities said Tuesday. (AP Photo/Tracy Police Department)AP - A Girl Scout leader and her husband were arrested after an emaciated, terrified and nearly naked 17-year-old showed up at a gym with a chain locked to his ankle, saying he had just fled his captors, authorities said Tuesday.



Chart compares the percentage of military service members getting divorced this year and last; 1 c x 2 7/8 in; 46.5 mm x 73.025 mmAP - The divorce rate among soldiers and Marines increased last year as military marriages suffered continuing stress from America's two ongoing wars. There were an estimated 10,200 failed marriages in the active duty Army and 3,077 among Marines, according to figures obtained by The Associated Press for the budget year ended Sept. 30.



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Folk performer Odetta sings at the New Orleans Jazz Festival in this 1978 file photo. Odetta, the folk singer with the powerful voice who moved audiences and influenced fellow musicians for a half-century, died Tuesday Dec. 2, 2008. She was 77. (AP Photo, FILE)AP - Odetta, the folk singer with the powerful voice who moved audiences and influenced fellow musicians for a half-century, has died. She was 77.



Oil traders gesture as they work in the oil futures pit at the New York Mercantile Exchange in New York, Tuesday, Dec. 2, 2008. Oil prices dipped again Tuesday and gas prices hit their lowest levels since January 2005 with the United States officially in a recession.  (AP Photo/Kathy Willens)AP - Asian stock markets mostly rose Wednesday after a rebound on Wall Street, but pervasive concerns about the dismal outlook for the world economy limited gains.



Indiana Pacers forward Danny Granger, left, puts up a shot in front of Los Angeles Lakers forward Vladimir Radmanovic (10), of Serbia, during the fourth quarter of an NBA basketball game in Indianapolis, Tuesday, Dec. 2, 2008. The Pacers won 118-117. (AP Photo/Darron Cummings)AP - Danny Granger scored 32 points and led Indiana back from a 15-point fourth-quarter deficit, and Troy Murphy tipped in a missed shot at the buzzer to complete an improbable 118-117 victory over the Los Angeles Lakers on Tuesday night.



U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, left, waves to media as she arrives at Palam technical airport in New Delhi, India, Wednesday, Dec. 3, 2008. Rice arrived in New Delhi on Wednesday in Washington's effort to ease tensions in the region after a three-day terrorist attack that left 171 people dead in Mumbai. U.S. Ambassador to India David Mulford, center, and his wife Jeannie Mulford are also seen in the picture. (AP Photo/Gurinder Osan)Reuters - Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice arrived in New Delhi on Wednesday as part of urgent U.S. efforts to ease tension between India and Pakistan that has surged over the Mumbai attacks.



A foreign currency dealer stands in front of a screen displaying the exchange rates between the U.S. dollar and the Korean won at the Korea Exchange Bank in Seoul November 24, 2008. (Jo Yong-Hak/Reuters)Reuters - South Korea moved on Wednesday to help local banks through a cash crunch gripping the global financial system as central banks around the world were expected to cut interest rates again to support their fast flagging economies.



Reuters - U.S. forces in Iraq captured two suspected members of an Iranian-backed network and killed a third Wednesday, part of U.S. efforts to target a group it says has attacked Iraqi citizens and foreign troops.

New trucks are displayed for sale at a Ford dealership in Encinitas, California in this November 11, 2008 file photo. (Mike Blake/Reuters)Reuters - A top lawmaker predicted Washington would approve a bailout for U.S. automakers after they submitted survival plans, and General Motors Corp and Chrysler LLC said they needed an immediate infusion of cash to avoid failures.



President-elect Barack Obama meets with governors during a bipartisan meeting with members of the National Governors Association at Congress Hall in Independence Park in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania December 2, 2008. (Jeff Haynes/Reuters)Reuters - President-elect Barack Obama moved swiftly toward wrapping up his cabinet appointments on Wednesday with the selection of rival-turned-supporter Bill Richardson as secretary of commerce.



Incumbent Senator Saxby Chambliss (C) smiles after hugging his grandson John Baker and his mother Emma Chambliss after he had been told he was ahead in the run-off at his election night party in Atlanta, Georgia December 2, 2008. Chambliss won a run-off election in Georgia on Tuesday, CNN said, denying Democrats the chance for a 60-seat 'super majority' in the Senate that would have enabled them to pass legislation virtually at will. (Tami Chappell/Reuters)Reuters - Republican Sen. Saxby Chambliss easily won a run-off election in Georgia on Tuesday, denying Democrats the chance for a 60-seat "super majority" in the Senate that would have enabled them to pass legislation virtually at will.



A station attendant fills up a bus at a gas station in Shanghai November 25, 2008. (Aly Song/Reuters)Reuters - Oil rose toward $48 a barrel on Wednesday, recovering from a tumble of more than $100 off July peaks, but the upside could be limited, with further signs of weakening oil demand expected in upcoming weekly U.S. oil data.



Senator Hillary Clinton along with daughter Chelsea (L) and husband former President Bill Clinton (C) speaks to supporters at her North Carolina and Indiana primary election night rally in Indianapolis, Indiana, May 6, 2008. (John Gress/Reuters)Reuters - New York Gov. David Paterson has famous names to choose from in picking a replacement for Sen. Hillary Clinton, including a Kennedy, a Cuomo and even another Clinton, as in the former president of the United States.



An anti-government protester waits for transport as demonstrators prepare to leave the Suvarnabhumi international airport in Bangkok on December 3. Hundreds of anti-government protesters have packed up and left Bangkok's airports after a crippling siege, as authorities assured angry tourists that flights would resume within 24 hours.(AFP/Hoang Dinh Nam)AFP - Hundreds of anti-government protesters packed up and left Bangkok's airports on Wednesday after a crippling siege, as authorities assured angry tourists that flights would resume within 24 hours.



Indians rest on the sea front promenade outside the Oberoi Trident hotel in Mumbai. Pakistan offered Tuesday to work hand-in-hand with India to track down those responsible for the Mumbai attacks but declined to respond immediately to a demand that it hand over 20 terrorist suspects.(AFP/Indranil Mukherjee)AFP - US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice arrived in New Delhi Wednesday to try and ease India-Pakistan tensions over the Mumbai attacks, as US intelligence blamed a Pakistan-based militant group.




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