Sawyer Brown Slowing Down On Road,
But Not In Studio

By Lori Buttars of The Salt Lake Tribune

For years, Utah country-music fans could almost set their clocks by Sawyer Brown concerts in Salt Lake City.

The high-powered band stopped through here every November. But last year, while fans waited for the band's return, Sawyer Brown decided to change its itinerary.

``We don't want to wear out our welcome,'' said Gregg ``Hobie'' Hubbard, explaining that the band has opted to perform only 90 shows this year instead of the usual 200.

``No matter what, I can't imagine ever not playing Utah,'' he said in a telephone call from Nashville, where the band was awaiting an appearance on the cable-television talk show ``Prime Time Country.''

Sawyer Brown scaling down? Unheard of. These are the guys who made rockin' country music acceptable with their high-stepping stage antics, Day-Glo costumes, and slippery-slide and conveyor-belt stage sets.

The group isn't going to rest on its laurels, Hubbard said. On the contrary, it is ``going to be spending most of the spare time in the studio.''

``After nearly 15 years, we still have enthusiasm,'' he said. ``It's a blessing from God, really. We know we can't take it for granted. It's the music that keeps that fire lit.''

That attitude comes from having survived a decade and a half of criticism from media types who made fun of the group's start on ``Star Search'' and who considered Sawyer Brown's music here-today-gone-tomorrow ear candy.

Today, Hubbard chuckles as he recalls the group singing a cover of the Jackson Five's ``Going Back to Indiana'' on the TV talent show. He is having the last laugh.

The group just closed the book on its second compilation of ``Greatest Hits.'' Sawyer Brown's latest album, ``This Thing Called Wantin' and Havin' It All,'' a collection of up-tempo tunes about the everyday life of small-town America, takes the band into its third.

Sawyer Brown started making changes in it persona with ``Cafe on the Corner,'' the band's last studio effort, which was a consciously somber project, Hubbard said. The musicians felt some pressure to show the critics their serious side. At the same time, there were some serious issues they wanted to address.

``The bottom line is that we've grown up,'' he said. ``In the years that we've been together, some of us have gotten married, had children, lost parents. Those things shape you as a person, and it has colored and shaped our music as well.''

Right now, the music is flowing.

``We've got so many things we want to do. We wanted to work together on it now, when it made the most sense,'' he said.

So over the next few months, when the band would normally be hitting the road, the members will take intermittent breaks from touring to record. That means retreating to Muscle Shoals, Ala., where Hubbard said it is easier to concentrate on writing new music.

``It's a great place with a long history of music. It's very laid-back, no clock watching and no distractions like there is in Nashville, where you have a bunch of people coming into check out what you're doing,'' he said.

The band members, Hubbard acknowledged, naturally gravitate toward the up-tempo tunes that earned them their fame. The recording sessions and music reflect that.

``But we can mix it up, too. Now, the songs are up-tempo and have a little more meat to them,'' he said. ``It's natural for people to want to have fun. That is something we can all share in and something we have been able to convey as a band.''

© Copyright 1996, The Salt Lake Tribune

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