Country singer/songwriter Chris Cagle says that the word "no" is like a dare.
"I have a problem with setting my goals very high," Cagle said during a phone call while driving to a laundromat in Nashville, Tenn. "I told my family what I wanted to do with music. They weren't too happy. And my attitude was 'Well, I'll show you.' "
Cagle, whose hit "My Love Goes On and On" peaked at No. 12 on the country-music charts, will play the Westerner on Friday, Feb. 2. Doors open at 7 p.m. and Cagle is scheduled to play around 11 p.m.
He said he has always believed in hard work to get what he wants. "I decided to do anything I could to make my choice of careers successful. But it wasn't always easy."
The singer was born in Louisiana and moved to Houston when he was 4. He grew up listening to everyone from Lynyrd Skynyrd to Grand Funk Railroad and Charlie Rich.
By 19, Cagle had left college and moved to Nashville, Tenn., where he felt he could pursue his love of music. After working in restaurants, golf courses and other menial jobs, he finally met one of his mentors, songwriter Harlan Howard.
"Harlan shared a lot of insight about the music and songwriting business," Cagle said. "He was able to put things into ideas and theories that I could understand. And I took his advice and applied it to who I am."
While still working in a restaurant, he met an assistant to Scott Hendricks, president of Virgin Records Nashville. And during 2000, Cagle released a debut album, "Play It Loud."
"I was very fortunate to get connected with Virgin," Cagle said. "Usually, record companies would try to mold an artist into a slot they need. 'We need a George Strait type' or 'We need a Garth (Brooks) type.' But Virgin said to just be myself.
"I was lucky because I had spent a lot of time trying to figure out who I was, and I felt very comfortable about myself. And the fact that the company liked me for who I was and not because I sounded like someone else was even better."
While his dreams of becoming one of the best country music artists out there is still in the distance, Cagle said he makes sure he's doing all he can to reach that goal.
"I bust my tail to find my dreams," Cagle said. "I loved to smoke and I quit that. I'm running five miles a day. I gave up smoking, even though I loved it. I'm writing songs. I've got a hand in my merchandise. I co-produced my album with my friend (Robert Wright), and I'm honing up on my songwriting."
The problem with being so involved, said Cagle, is that all the responsibility of whether or not he makes or breaks the scene is all on him. "But that goes back to the idea that if you want something bad enough, then hard work is the way to get it," he said. "Conway Twitty said in this kind of career, '15 percent is talent and 85 percent is desire.'
"I like to sing. And I like my music, but I think I've got 95 percent desire and maybe 5 percent talent."
E-mail: scott@desnews.com