That Balance Thing, Again

A thank you to the reader who posted a quote from Kenny Chesney's latest interview.

http://music-mix.ew.com/2009/09/15/kenny-chesney-not-touring-in-2010-exclusive


Chesney: "I just felt like this year it finally hit me that I need to get reconnected with my family. I wanna do some things that I’ve never gotten to do, like see other parts of the world, write some more songs. Do some shows that are completely different for me. I might wanna go do an acoustic show at Red Rocks or something. Something to feed my soul. I’ve given a big part of my soul for this for so long, and nothing has really been filling that up. It seems like in the last couple of years, I’ve been on an empty tank. And that’s gotta change."




There's even more to this piece that's revealing. An existence without the connections that a personal life and family time give a soul is not worth missing out on for celebrity, fame, riches, career success, public adoration and peer respect. We are not suggesting that Kenny must marry, must have kids, and then structure his touring schedule like Keith Urban, Brad Paisley and Toby Keith have. But it is obvious to anyone that follows country music that Chesney has been a "career man" for an enormous amount of time. Here in an interview the country superstar reveals that he, like everyone else, needs to step back, re-evaluate, and create some balance.

"You realize what it means for the fans to be there, too. I don’t take that lightly. As a performer you don’t want to let go of that connection, but you also know as an artist you want to give them even more. And I realized this year that means just taking a deep breath, cause I want to give them more later on, too. I’ve thought about this a lot. To me, Bruce Springsteen has pretty much defined the live communion with the audience. He has defined the passion and the connection to the fans. And one night when we were playing in New Jersey, Bruce sat on my bus with me and we talked for a couple hours, and he told me something that hit me really hard, and it’s stuck with me ever since. He said, “Kenny, you can write half a song on a piece of paper, and you can put that piece of paper away in a drawer for five years, and you can go back to it, and that song will still be there. But life isn’t like that. And whatever you’re doing, don’t miss your life, too.” And I thought about that all year. I’ve been giving to one thing for so long that I just realized that had to change.

And this past week I decided that it was really time. Last night in Charleston, South Carolina, my mom came, and a lot of my family came to the show. And after the show I realized it’s been a long time since I’ve actually had a real conversation with any of those people. [laughs] I am so zoned in and so gone all the time. That’s tough, when you’ve gotta get reconnected with the people that you’re not supposed to have to get reconnected to. And it kind of made me realize that this decision that I made — I made it last week, I think, in my own heart and head, that this is what I really want to do."

I’m picturing all these sad empty parking lots. Where will people tailgate now that you’re gone?

[laughs]"I don’t know. We’ll be back. We’re not going away forever. But to make it what I think it can be for the next chapter of my life, those parking lots have got to be empty, at least for my show, for one year. I just think I owe it to myself, I owe it to the fans, for our show to be the best it can possibly be. And sometimes that means getting away from it."

Thank you Kenny. We don't need to focus on Chesney telling the world he thinks everybody should go see Keith Urban in concert. He respects the hell out of Urban. Everyone, including the skeptics, already knows that. What is important is a man seeing the value of living a full life. Experiencing new places, things. Having real conversations with loved ones. Reconnecting.

It's clear the skeptics that complain Urban isn't giving enough to them, need to take a step back. In this respect, their argument has nothing to do with Nicole Kidman. It has to do with Urban having a life away from them. Even with girlfriends and family visiting, the musician's focus was always on the career. It is no longer that way; and to add fuel to the fire, the new life has made it's way into the music. But naturally and rightfully so. You see for the skeptics Chesney's meaningful material is all make believe. If only Keith stayed single, their obsession would have less mental roadblocks. It's acceptable for other artists because the skeptics don't care enough (Brad Paisley) or again...it's all imaginary (Jake Owen, Jimmy Wayne). That daughter Kenny sings about that he has to watch leaving home doesn't exist. The wife and kids he's hurt is just in a song. He doesn't have a better half to grow old and grey with on the front porch. Kenny Chesney is still the single musician up for a party and coming to a town near you almost every night of the week. And now he sees it's time for a change.

Two words skeptics. "Don't Blink".