Chingawassa Days: Trent Summar builds international following
Trent Summar must confound the orderly world of record companies.
He's more "country" than many country artists, having been raised in rural Tennessee.
But he's a rocker, too, with music critics likening his sound to no less than James Brown, the Rolling Stones, and the Ramones.
Summar will open for 38 Special June 1 during Chingawassa Days. Gates open at 6 p.m.
"We're looking forward to it," he said Thursday. "We love to play, we love to have fun, and you'll see that at the show."
His self-titled album has gained wide critical acclaim. One music expert called it "the most impressive country album to come out of Nashville in a decade, and the most impressive rock record to come out of Nashville ever."
Summar's been in the music business for 15 years. His songs don't use the stereotype of country living being all sweetness and light. He shows an independent, hard-working, and hard-playing lifestyle.
"Hank Williams was on the edge, and if you want to go back further, the hillbillies in the mountains weren't singing lullabies," Summar said.
Toured with 38 Special
Summar toured with 38 Special as part of a multi-band festival featuring Charlie Daniels. He's excited to be working with them again.
"Those are a great bunch of guys, and they put on a fantastic show," he said. "Folks are gonna love them."
Summar recorded with the band Hank Flamingo. They made a living touring clubs, including several gigs in Kansas, but they only released one album.
For his next project, Summar brought together a group he dubbed the New Row Mob. They include seasoned musicians and live performers who have worked with groups as diverse as The Mavericks, Trisha Yearwood, and Sixpence None the Richer.
The touring version doesn't always include everyone who played on the CD. The New Row Mob changes constantly, as members are snapped up to record and tour with other artists.
"We knew we couldn't keep these all-star players all the time, so we have people who can step up, like a team," he said. "I'm a band man. It takes five or six guys to get what we want."
Daredevil is a Mobster
A highlight at the June 1performance will be Michael "Supe" Granda, bass player and lead singer for the Ozark Mountain Daredevils ("If You Want to Get to Heaven," "Jackie Blue").
Granda co-wrote a number of songs on Summar's album. The Daredevils record and tour occasionally — an album was issued in 2001 — but otherwise, Granda is a Mobster.
"Supe is a member of the New Row Mob as long as he wants to be," Summar said. "He's the band leader. And he's seen everything. There's never a situation he hasn't dealt with."
Summar has worked as an art director on music videos for other artists, and he accepts them as part of the music business. His videos are like the songs — energetic, witty, and a little gritty.
"It's nothing for a big label to spend a quarter-million dollars on one video, and our budget was a tenth of that, so we had to be creative," Summar said. "GAC, CMT, and VH1-Country have been very supportive of our videos, because they're different."
The videos include "Paint Your Name in Purple," a rocker about the best way to show true love — paint your girl's name on the side of a dirt-track race car. "New Money" is a look at a what happens when a good ol' boy has more cash than sense. The third is a remake of the No. 1 Albert Hammond hit "It Never Rains in Southern California."
Summar has an energetic stage presence. He feels it all comes down to giving people their money's worth.
"I love people to say afterward 'You were fun, you made us laugh, you entertained us,'" Summar said. "We're entertainers. We leave it all onstage."
"Metal, Stone, Glass, and Wood," is a song about a historic hotel torn down in Nashville to make way for a drugstore chain. When not recording, Summar recovers architectural features from buildings scheduled for demolition.
"I'm a junk man, and proud of it," he declared. But he turns serious on the issue of restoration.
"There are so many things being torn down, and not because there's anything wrong with it, but just to make room," he said. "Architecture is such an important part of a city. What they build back is never of that original quality.
"They call it progress, and I'm not saying it shouldn't be done, but there needs to be some guidance."
Summar was on tour with Charlie Daniels when the Sept. 11 attack happened. After considerable thought, they decided to play that Saturday.
"We were one of the few bands performing that weekend, and we played to a standing ovation," he said. "We flew to Japan in October. You cannot let them change your life."
Summar is recording his second CD. "You can make a record quickly, but it takes a long time to make a good record," he said. "A couple of years isn't a big deal to me."
