 "Photo: Courtesy Melanie Wages")
Many musicians say they have wanted to be a musician their whole life.
Pat Green, however, is not one of them.
"I guess I started my freshman year in college," Green said. "That's when I picked up a guitar and said, 'I'm gonna learn how to play guitar.'"
Though he was already a legal adult before dipping his feet in the music pool, Green, now one of the biggest names in country music, took to it instantly.
"It was really very exciting for me," he said. "I couldn't get enough of it. It was an addiction immediately."
After his first hit, "Wave on Wave," released in 2003, the success has been a nonstop road for Green.
But there was a significant moment when he knew he had "made it big."
"Hearing my voice on the radio was a huge thing," he said. "And then realizing (with 'Wave on Wave') we had a huge, chart-topping hit that stayed on top of the charts for a month. That was the defining moment."
Although the single never went to number one, Green said it stayed in the top five for well over a month.
"That was the biggest thing ever for me," he said.
Now, more than six years later, Green still enjoys hearing his voice on the radio. But it's for different reasons.
"I don't think it's as weird now as much as it was then," he said. "Now I'm just kind of glad because that means I've still got a job."
With the release of his latest album, What I'm For, which came out at the beginning of this year, Green hopes to continue making music (and have a job) for a while.
What I'm For marks a milestone in Green's career because it's "a little bit more back to my roots," he said.
The album also holds a lot of importance to his family - his wife and two kids.
"I think this one is a little more based in what it is I've done in the past," he said. "But more than anything this is a lot about my family, a lot about my feelings for my kids and my wife and just the whole family thing."
Over the course of his career, Green's music has slowly changed. He believes this is something that, for most people, happens naturally.
"That's the only way to make it sound real," he said. "If I was trying to force the issue it would sound like I was faking it."
A lot of the songs came naturally, but choosing the album title was not an easy feat.
With two song names in mind, Green had to make some major considerations.
"I felt like the song 'Footsteps of our Father' was probably my favorite song on the album," he said. "But the song 'What I'm For' - that song said more in three words than 'Footsteps of our Father' said in four."
While he is comfortable with co-writing, Green still enjoys writing songs on his own.
Although he chooses not to put too many songs he didn't write on any album, he is especially proud of his most recent one for the number of songs he wrote.
"The last album out before this one, I guess I only wrote about six or seven of the songs," he said. "But this one I wrote all but two."
Green has also done co-writing with other singers, including Rob Thomas and Jewel, which is something he holds close to his heart.
"To have the kind of career that will afford you the opportunity to write with those people is what I'm most proud of," he said.
Now on tour for his latest album, Green will stop in Kansas City. He will perform Oct. 23 at Kemper Arena.
hsaskin@unews.com
