If it's early November in Utah, then Sawyer Brown must in the neighborhood.
Yes, the country-rock group is making its third November foray through the Beehive State - again a multistop tour - this time with up-and-coming solo acts Billy Dean and Lee Roy Parnell.Here's the four-stop Utah itinerary, with all shows starting at 7:30 p.m.
- Wednesday, Nov. 4, Bunnell-Dmitrich Athletic Center, College of Eastern Utah, Price. Parnell will not perform at the Price concert.
- Thursday, Nov. 5, Spectrum, Utah State University, Logan.
- Friday, Nov. 6, Centrum, Southern Utah University, Cedar City.
- Satuday, Nov. 7, Huntsman Center, University of Utah, Salt Lake City.
While some "purist" country critics see Sawyer Brown as flaunting too much rock or too much industry sophistication for their tastes, the second-decade band has a reputation for disregarding the critics and catering only to itself and its fans. The high-octane performers have proven popular over the years, with industry analysts ranking the group among 10 top-grossing country acts of 1991.
Comprised of co-founders Mark Miller and Gregg "Hobie" Hubbard along with Jim Scholten, Joe Smyth and Duncan Cameron, Sawyer Brown is riding its current hit, "Cafe on the Corner," the title track from its 10th and latest disc. Other well-known efforts by Sawyer Brown include "Some Girls Do," "The Dirt Road," "The Walk" "Step That Step" and "The Race is On."
While Sawyer Brown is making its annual trek to Utah, the barnstorming tour will mark Dean's first visit to the Rocky Mountain region.
You know Dean - a 1992 Grammy nominee for best new male vocalist, a double-winner at this year's Academy of Country Music Awards for top new male country vocalist and song of the year ("Somewhere in My Broken Heart"), and recent nominee for the Country Music Association's Horizon Award.
You also know Dean through some of his semi-autobiographical songs, such as "Billy the Kid" - the Top 5 song about adolescence, bikes, backyards and toy pistols with white plastic grips.
"The people understand my personality, rather than me just being new - it's like going to a concert and seeing a bunch of old friends," said Dean of sharing his past and his persona via song.
"But I've got a dark side - I've got secrets that I keep hidden that hopefully nobody will find out," he said during a phone interview from San Antonio, Texas, where he's filming a new video.
Some of those dark secrets don't include the fact that "Billy the Kid" accidently set his house on fire as a youngster or later shot up the gas station where his father worked.
Part of the dark side will be seen and heard in future work, including his upcoming disc "Fire in the Dark" and the title cut (and the accompanying video that Dean was filming), "Trying to Hide a Fire in the Dark" - what the 30-year-old singer/songwriter labels as a " '90s cheating-in-the-mind song."
Also appearing in three of four Utah events is Lee Roy Parnell, whose "Love Without Mercy" - the title cut from his second album - is following on the heels of the hit "What Kind of Fool Do You Think I Am" in getting considerable airplay and acclaim.
Like Dean, Parnell isn't afraid to let listeners take a personal look at him, as evidenced in the autobiographical "Road Scholar," which he shares with longtime stage partner Delbert McClinton.
The roadhouse was my schoolhouse/That's where I paid my dues/I got a master's in rhythm and a minor in soul/And a Ph.D. in the blues.
Parnell credits the various styles found throughout his native Texas for influencing his efforts. "I loved all the music of southeast Texas and Louisiana - the Cajun, country, blues and traditional rock 'n' roll that comes out of there," he said. "I've been playing those styles since I was a kid; they're second nature to me now."