In Terre Haute
• What: Eric Church’s Blood, Sweat and Beers Tour
• When: 7:30 p.m. Saturday
• Where: Terre Haute’s Hulman Center
It was opening night for the 2012 portion of Eric Church’s Blood, Sweat and Beers Tour.
His bus pulled into the Fort Smith Convention Center in Arkansas, where more buses, trucks, stages and equipment buzzed with activity.
“I damn near had a panic attack,” the singer-songwriter said by telephone Tuesday from Nashville, Tenn. “I was like, ‘Who the hell’s paying for all this?’”
Expectations, crowd sizes and sales have all ramped up for Church since the release of his 2011 album “Chief” and its hit single “Drink In My Hand,” which climbed to No. 1 on the Billboard Country charts. Still, the 34-year-old North Carolina native insists he hasn’t forgotten the path he took to this point. Church started playing clubs at age 17, graduated from Appalachian State University with a marketing degree, passed on a corporate career and eventually signed a songwriting contract in Music City. In 2006, he began touring and performing as a recording artist.
“We’ve scraped a long time, and I think that’s part of the reason it’s so satisfying,” he said.
The lean days remain fresh in his mind. “I understand what that means and where we came from. We’ve played every sewer in America,” Church said.
Today, with sellout crowds awaiting, his BS&B Tour has taken him and the band from Arkansas, to Missouri and Mississippi, and then to Michigan before hitting Terre Haute’s Hulman Center for Saturday night’s 7:30 show, opened by Jon Pardi and Brantley Gilbert.
Church and company will perform several songs from his latest album. On the disc, he and producer Jay Joyce pursued some off-the-beaten-Nashville-path sounds and story lines. That includes the first song Church has ever recorded that he didn’t help write — “Like Jesus Does.” The song toasts a girl, a believer, who sticks by him and forgives him, “even when I can’t.”
Boundaries and formats went out the window on the album. “I guess it’s more fearless, lyrically and musically,” Church said. On “Like Jesus Does,” Church rehearsed the song alone a couple times after hearing a demo sent to him by a songwriting friend, stepped up to a microphone along with a drummer and bassist, and recorded what became the keeper version. “That’s something that just doesn’t happen in Nashville,” he said.
“It’s a sparse sounding song,” Church added.
The free-form sound appeals to him, and may set a path for his musical offerings in the future.
“On this record, I did not worry one time what the label was going to think, what the radio would think, or what the fans would think,” he said.
Mark Bennett can be reached at (812) 231-4377 or mark.bennett@tribstar.com.
Raw: Massive Funnel Clouds in Oklahoma
Raw: Widespread Destruction in Moore, Okla.
Raw: Aerials Show Path of Oklahoma Destruction
Raw: Rescue Workers Search Oklahoma School
Active Search for Utah Missing Mom Ends
Raw: Aftermath of Massive Tornado in Oklahoma
Raw: Tornado on the Ground in Oklahoma
Raw: Japan's WWII Atrocities Under Fire in Seoul
Huge Tornado Kills Dozens Near Oklahoma City
Raw: Tearful Reunion After Okla. Tornado
Voters Could Elect LA's First Female Mayor
Raw: Aussie Zoo Shows Off White Rhino Calf
Obama Pledges Urgent Aid for Tornado Victims
Raw: Rescuers Pull Tornado Survivors to Safety
AP Photograher: 'It Was a Miracle' They Got Out
Raw: Crews Search for Survivors of Okla. Tornado
OKC Hospital Describes Treating Tornado Wounded
Horse Saved From Slaughter, Goes on to Win Big
MLB Hoping for Large Replay Expansion in 2014
Moore, Okla. City of Reunions, Tears After Storm
VIRAL: Baby makes epic soccer goal
Olivia Munn Flaunts Her Bikini Bod
Britney Spears Under Fire Once Again For Being A Bad Mom
The Hangover Baby All Grown Up
Arias Tells Jury What She'd Do if She Gets Life
The all-new Xbox One
RAW: Massive tornado strikes Oklahoma
Nidal Hasan paid $278K while awaiting trial
VIDEO: Teacher reunites mother and son after tornado levels elementary school in Oklahoma City
Okla. tornado survivor finds dog buried alive under rubble
Jennifer Lawrence Gets Naked and Painted Blue as X-Men's Mystique
Pickler's Dance Moves Cause A Stir
Obama to tornado survivors: The country stands beside you
Reporter Cries Over Devastation
Sneak Peek: 'Modern Family' Says Good Bye
Trailer: 'The Last Stand' Available on Blu-ray Disc, DVD, Digital Download
IWitness Look at Moore, OK Tornado
RAW: Moore, OK tornado touches down near school
Robert Pattinson Moves Out
RAW: Russian dash cam catches car 20 feet in the air
