Brad Paisley is one of the biggest country music stars in the world, but don’t expect the singer to stage a massive crossover campaign any time soon.
The country crooner — enjoying the mammoth success of his current album “5th Gear” — is country through and through.
“I’m focused on the country fans,” said Paisley, who plays the Pepsi Center tonight. “I don’t make music with thoughts of crossing over, ever.”
We caught up with Paisley to talk about his recent Country Music Association awards, his strategy for picking hit singles and his friendship with actors Jason Alexander and William Shatner.
Q. You’d been nominated for the CMA award for best male vocalist numerous times, but you finally won it last year. How was that?
A. I’ve always wanted to win that. I can remember watching that show from the time I was really small, and it was huge to be able to walk up on that stage and take home the award so many of my heroes have won. I’d been up for that award a lot, and I finally got it on my seventh try.
Q. And now three Grammy nominations — did you think you’d be having such a big year when you were cutting “5th Gear” last year?
A. I can never guess the way a year’s going to go from a distance. When I’ve had inklings or predictions, things always go a different way than planned. With this record, I took my hands off it to see where the chips would fall. I didn’t think things would go this well.
Q. Do you usually pick your singles, or does the label?
A. It’s gone both ways. But I don’t know if the person writing the song is all that familiar with public opinions. It’s one thing to write these songs and sing them every night, but it’s another thing to know a little about what the people want to hear on the radio.
Q. You worked with Jason Alexander and William Shatner again on a music video for “Online.” You went back to them, so you must get along with them.
A. During the writing process, I said to my writers, “This is perfect for Jason.” I had heard that he would be interested in directing one of our videos. He was directing a play in L.A., and he wanted to make a video like a short film. It came out at like, six minutes, which was long, but the video channels thought it was unique enough to play. It’s just not the same thing if you get rid of some of the talking in the middle and the beginning and ending.
Q. And what about Shatner? He seems like he’s pretty self-deprecating.
A. Bill Shatner had the best sense of humor that anybody could have. One of the greatest moments for me was standing in the room and looking at Jason, his grease-stained “Beam Me Up” T-shirt, glasses and the fake Vulcan ears — with Bill playing his father. . . . That’s something that crosses so many sci-fi borders for me.
Ricardo Baca: 303-954-1394 or rbaca@denverpost.com
