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
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
AP - 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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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 - 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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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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