THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1996, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Thursday, June 6, 1996 TAG: 9606060059
SECTION: DAILY BREAK PAGE: E3 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY FRANK ROBERTS, STAFF WRITER
LENGTH: 70 lines
LAST WEEKEND in Virginia Beach, audiences were treated to Young Elvis, Black Elvis, Fire Eating Elvis and the Skydiving Elvises. Now, check the Harborfest schedule for Friday at 7 p.m. You guessed it: Elvis Appears!
``Some of that stuff gets a little weird,'' said Mark Chesnutt. ``It has nothing to do with his music. I've always been a fan of his voice. His lifestyle was his business. The music was important. We'll never see the likes of him again.''
There will never be another George Jones again, either, but plenty of young singers are trying to walk in the footsteps of the traditionalist extraordinaire - including Chesnutt, proclaimed by Jones as ``the best of the new crop.''
``Audiences are maturing, getting away from the rock `n' roll sound (and) more into traditional,'' Chesnutt said from his home in Jasper, Tex. ``I don't know where country music is headed. It's getting pretty slick, but there are still a lot of traditional country singers.
``As long as we have these young guys still listening to George and Merle, we got a chance. We're probably gonna get back to the roots before long.''
Chesnutt had been digging into those roots long before he came onto the national scene with 1990's ``Too Cold at Home.'' Other hits followed: ``Brother Jukebox,'' ``Blame It On Texas,'' ``Bubba Shot the Jukebox,'' ``It Sure Is Monday.''
Sunday at Harborfest, Chesnutt will sing those hits, and a few more. He has three platinum albums to his credit, with enough hits for an album's worth.
Speaking of . . .
``I'm going into the recording studio this month to work on a greatest hits album,'' Chesnutt said. ``It will be out the first of the year, and it will have two new ones.
``A lot of people don't know I have that many songs out.''
That will come as news to those who've followed the career of the Beaumont, Tex.-born performer. In a quiet, but bitingly effective way, Chesnutt is one of country's funniest, most unpredictable characters. Watch him do a talk show. He's all over the place.
Would he do it for a living?
``No, I'd have to move out of Texas. Also, I'd get bored with it before long,'' he said. ``I enjoy that TV stuff every now and then, but if it turned into a job, it wouldn't be as funny.
``I'd rather be a singer. If I don't spend all my time doing that, my music might suffer. I spend a lot of time working on my music. That's the most important thing.''
Well, maybe second-most. Chesnutt is a family man - wife and son, with child No. 2 due in January. Likewise, his concerts are low key; no smoke rising from the floor, no flights to the ceiling, guitars that stay in one piece.
``All the high-power stage shows and everything still don't make you a better singer,'' he said. ``I tried it; didn't work. It's a lot more fun to be myself.'' ILLUSTRATION: Graphic
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[Concert Facts]
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