Colt Ford looks like a heavyweight John Rich.
“That is pretty close,” Ford said. “He’s not nearly as good looking as I am.”
Cowboy hat, Fu Manchu mustache, Western shirts and boots and such complete his look. Oh, but then there’s the matter of Ford’s 300 pounds.
See for yourself when the outspoken Ford opens for Jason Aldean on Nov. 20 at Freedom Hall in Johnson City, Tenn.
Hot on the trail astride his album “Ride Through the Country” and EP “Country Is as Country Does,” what Ford lacks in radio airplay for such songs as “No Trash in My Trailer” he more than compensates for with album sales.
“I wasn’t invited to be at the CMA’s because I don’t have a top 40 song,” Ford said Monday by phone from his home in Georgia. “But I’ve outsold 67 percent of the ones on the CMA’s.”
Ford’s CMA freeze-out perhaps owes to his style of country music. He grew up near Athens, Ga., as a fan of Waylon Jennings, Charlie Daniels and Johnny Cash. However, like many a kid during the 1980s, he also turned to hip-hop.
By high school, Ford was penning raps. Now that part of his past shows up in his country music, which explains the reluctance of country radio from airing his music.
“Yeah, I’m different,” Ford said. “Come to Johnson City, and hear the people who sing along to my songs and ask them why it won’t work on radio. Ask any rapper, and they’ll tell you that the first rap song they ever heard was Charlie Daniels’ ‘The Devil Went Down to Georgia.’ ”
His critics retort that he’s not country or simply not country enough. That’s despite such songs as “Cold Beer” and “Tailgate,” each of which contain decidedly country themes.
Ford tackled the not-country reference like an angry linebacker.
“I live in a log cabin,” he said. “I wear Wrangler’s bought from Wal-Mart. I eat fried chicken with my fingers. My definition is God, country, family, friends and hard work. If that ain’t country, then hell, I guess I don’t know what country is.”
Warmed up like Jimmie Johnson’s NASCAR engine, Ford hit the gas. Take for instance the assumption that Nashville’s conglomerate of musicians known as the Muzik Mafia that includes Big & Rich and country rapper Cowboy Troy opened doors for artists like Ford.
“Cowboy Troy and I are not in the same ballpark,” Ford said. “I don’t know one thing that he’s done that is real. And John Rich, I love his ‘Detroit’ song, but he drives a Bentley around town. He wears a fur coat. That’s not country.”
So for now Ford tours with Jason Aldean.
“It’s an honor to play with him,” Ford said.
And come next week, Ford will continue work on a new album. Look for that by either late February or March of next year.
Meanwhile, Ford defends his country pedigree with one fell swoop.
“I ain’t giving a [mess] what they say,” Ford said. “They don’t have a clue.”
IF YOU GO
Who: Jason Aldean, Colt Ford and Ash Bowers
When: Nov. 20, 8 p.m.
Where: Freedom Hall, 1320 Pactolas Road, Johnson City, Tenn.
Admission: $29.75-$34.75
Info: (423) 461-4884
Web and audio: www.coltford.com
And: www.jasonaldean.com
TOM NETHERLAND is a freelance writer. He can be reached at features@bristolnews.com.
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