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Rodney RODNEY HAYDEN: THE REAL THING
Texas born and bred, as a child, Rodney developed an ear for the sound of some of country music's most enduring legends. "My dad was a lot like I am as far as buying records with a reckless abandon." he laughs. "When I was growing up there was all kinds of stuff to listen to. I'd dig through his record collection, which consisted of just about anything you could imagine. Blues, Jazz, Swing, Country.....and a lot of 60's and 70's rock and roll. For some reason I chose to listen to Haggard and Jones instead of the Beatles or The Stones." It won't take long after listening to Rodney sing to figure out another one of his major musical inspirations. "Hank Williams is definitely one of my biggest influences. He's one of the first artists that I ever listened to with deep interest." he says " I'm a huge fan of country music. I am really into vocal stylists, people that convey emotion. So I buy a lot of albums, see a lot of people live......I'm a student of country music, that probably describes it the best." But it's his voice that people are listening to with 'deep interest' these days. The 20 year old Pleasanton, Texas native has been catching the attention of a pretty impressive roster of people, including the eyes and ears of MCA’s Tony Brown and fellow Texan, Robert Earl Keen Jr. Hayden's relationship with Robert Earl Keen began a few years ago. "When I was in school I sent out a bunch of demo tapes that I had made to different managers, record people, etc. Basically anyone that I could find an address of on a CD jacket." he shares "It just so happened the only person that contacted me was Robert Earl Keen's Management Company, Rosetta Management. A few weeks later, Kathleen Keen came out to see me play a show and we just started talking over the next few weeks about possibly working together. "It's really neat how it all happened, kind of like it was meant to be, us working together." he muses, "Working with him on a regular basis will always be one of the major highlights in my career. Not many people have the opportunity to work with one of their heroes. It's had a big change on me, basically I'd be fixing to graduate college, and trying to figure out what I wanted to do in the real world if they hadn't had taken a chance on me. I mean, I'm sure I would have continued to play music, but most likely not as seriously as I am now. It enabled me to do that. It's amazing how someone else's confidence can change a person and make them believe in themselves even more." If Robert Earl Keen's mentorship isn't enough to boost someone's confidence, a visit from an influential record label executive might just do the trick. Chances are, if Tony Brown takes the time to travel to Texas to hear you play and ends up producing your demo projects in Nashville -- it's a real good sign things are on the upswing. "That was an amazing night. Just the thought that Tony Brown flew down to Austin to see our show is still unbelievable. I have been a huge fan of his work for years, you have to respect the things that he has done." Obviously Tony was impressed
with Rodney as well. "After our show at the Broken Spoke in Austin, Tony Brown
invited me up to record with him in Nashville." The choice for his debut single on Rosetta Records, the 1972 Chip Taylor (Wild Thing, Angel Of The Morning) penned "(I Want The) Real Thing" couldn't be more appropriate. The 'guaranteed to have you hitting the replay button' song is unabashedly filled with good ol' country twang. "It's kind of our "theme song. Kathleen Keen pitched me that song when I was still seventeen years old. It was right after I had met her," he recalls "She thought this would be a great song for me so the next summer we cut a demo on it. It's a really great song, and it does follow my musical philosophy. I'm not real outspoken on many subjects, just kind of take everything as it comes. However, I believe that there should be a place in country music for real country music. Back to the real thing" Rodney was fortunate enough to meet the songwriter behind his debut release while in Nashville. "I met him in a bar the week after I cut The Real Thing as a demo and we got to talking and he invited me to the Blue Bird Cafe to sing it with him the following night for a songwriters showcase they were having." he reminisces, "I sang The Real Thing and Wild Thing with him and then later in the night I got to get up and sing Okie From Muskogee with Rodney Crowell, Radney Foster and Kevin Welch." Tony Brown's praise of the single isn't light. "I had never heard the original recording of this song before hearing Rodney Hayden do it, so his version is the "real thing"! This is real country." How does Rodney feel about the fact that 'Real Thing' made it as one of the track's on another Tony Brown produced project by none other than George Strait? "I was surprised, but not too surprised because it's such a great song. I know George Strait had probably heard Chip's version in the 70's, but it's an honor that they recorded it and left it so close to ours." "Real Thing" is just the tip
of the iceberg. Rodney's debut album, which will include all six of the songs
from the Tony Brown sessions, will be available in January. On it, Rodney
showcases not only his amazing vocal abilities, but his songwriting as well,
writing seven out eleven of the songs. In the meantime...head on over to his website and listen to the sound clips. It'll blow you away. The music and the voice will say it all. Texas has a long legacy of great country music – the tradition continues with Rodney Hayden. Laurie Joulie Take Country Back November 2001 You can purchase Rodney's CD at CDNOW |
If
you’re tired of pro-tooled voices and perfectly chiseled images and are
looking for a real country singer, that sings real country music – look no
further, Rodney Hayden is the real thing. Don't let the youthfulness fool
you....he's got a whole-lotta voice to go with his stage presence, and his
music transcends demographic confines.