Interview: Darius Rucker

After 22 years fronting Hootie and the Blowfish, Darius Rucker has found a new calling--and a successful one at that. A fledgling country artist, Rucker reached No. 1 on the genre's Billboard chart with his debut album, "Learn to Live." As a result of this reincarnation, Rucker has drawn comparisons to the legendary Charley Pride.

"I can't believe people would use our names in the same sentence," said Rucker during a recent phone conversation with SoundSpike from Denver, CO. "If they want to compare us, that's fine."

Rucker, who also scored a top-selling single with the song "Don't Think I Don't Think About It," said he doesn't feel any undue pressure from the lofty comparison.

"Awww, I've got enough pressure on myself," he said with a laugh. "Charley had 36 No. 1s or something. He won Entertainer of the Year twice. That's legendary stuff. I could never match what Charley did, so I'm just going to try to do my little thing."

Before playing an acoustic show, Rucker talked to SoundSpike about his debut country release, his return to playing clubs, and the status of Hootie and the Blowfish.

SoundSpike: Why did you decide to go the country route?

Darius Rucker: I'd been talking about doing it for a long time. It was more like the time came to do it. When I was offered a record deal with Capitol, I knew it was time to do it.

Why was now the right time?

Hootie had been on the road for so long that we were talking about taking a long break, and the deal came with Capitol. I really wasn't looking for a record deal. I was just going to do it on my own at our studio in Charleston [SC]. When Capitol came along, everything started to line up.

Was it intimidating to try a completely new genre?

No, not really. I had a lot of friends in Nashville. Hootie always had our country influences that we showed from time to time. I was just making a record. I was making a country record. It wasn't really intimidating. I was just trying to make the best record I could make.

Had you written songs for your country album while you were in Hootie and the Blowfish?

I had songs that I had written, but none of them made the record. Once I started writing with these guys in Nashville, I realized these cats are crazy. They hear melodies different than I do. It was a cool learning experience [from] guys I can't wait to write with again.

What was the most important thing you learned from them?

That you don't have to be inspired to write. You can write a song whenever you want. It might not be a good song, but you can write a song.

What is the status of Hootie and the Blowfish?

We're still together. We have shows that we play every year. As far as doing a record or touring, I don't think we'll do that any time soon.

To promote your country album, you played clubs. Was it fun returning to clubs?

Always. Clubs are always fun. They're always a different animal. They're always fun.

You said Hootie and you have a lot of country influences; who are some of them?

Radney Foster, his "Del Rio, Texas 1959" album is one of my favorite albums of all time. I know every syllable and every nuance of that record backward and forward. I love it. I love Nanci Griffith, Dwight Yoakam. Those are the bands that really did it for me.

What was it like to work with Vince Gill and Alison Krauss?

They're legends and the nicest people in the world. Just the fact that they were going to be on my record was unbelievable because they're such big stars. They're not just country royalty, they're music royalty. For them to take the time to come down and do my record, I thought it was crazy in the way we did it. [Producer] Frank Rogers saw Vince in the gym and asked him to come down and do it and he came down and did it. That's Nashville.

How flattering.

It was Nashville. I've known Vince for awhile and that was a really cool thing for him and Alison both to do.

You must be excited about touring with Brad Paisley next year. He appeared on your album, correct?

Yeah, he played on a little song called "All I Want" and I'm extremely excited to tour with him. I saw him play earlier in the year, maybe last year, and I thought he was so incredibly great. I really wanted to play with him and they got me some dates. I'm excited. On "All I Want," Brad was so great; he came in and played on it and took the song up five levels. It could have been a regular shuffle or it could have been something special. Brad made it something special.

With "Learn to Live," it seems like you were able to carry over some of the traits of Hootie and the Blowfish, such as your trademark sense of humor. Would you agree?

Yeah. I think it's just me being in Hootie and doing this. That's kind of me just coming out in both bands.

Did you go for any one theme for the record?

No, we just wrote and the best songs just came to the top. We just kept writing until we thought we had a record. It's about who I am; where I am right now and things that have happened to me. I'm just so proud of the record.