"I
Couldn't Dream" is the title of one of Eric Agnew;s songs, and
the phrase nicely sums up the aspiring singer's reaction to his
recently rising fortunes. Agnew is a regional finalist in USA
Network's "Nashville Star" competition, which will single out
one performer to receive a recording contract with Sony Music.
"Nashville
Star" Is USA's version of "American Idol", with competitors vying
in the category of country music rather than pop. Agnew's self-described"big,
booming style" has propelled him to his plateau, one of 20 survivors
from an original field of thousand. Though talent has carried
him this far, serendipity has a hand in it as well.
"I
wasn't even going to enter," says Agnew of the contest's first
stage, held at the Hall of Fame Museum in Nashville."I had a cold.
I just went to be nosy."
Confidence
and competitive fire ruled the day, however, and he jumped, with
spectacular results. He made the cut there, and two subsequent
ones. There being five regions in USA Network's partitioning of
the country, Agnew figures he is now in the top 100 national semi-finalists,
at least.
No
matter the outcome of "Nashville Star," Agnew's come a long way
from Floyds Knobs, Ind., his hometown. He entered his first talent
contest there in the third grade, copping a win with his rendition
of Kenny Rogers' "The Gambler." (The fact that everybody won did
nothing to dampen his enthusiasm.) Thus emboldened, he went to
join the high school choir, and later to sing at weddings and
fairs throughout southern Indiana. His influences were Hank Williams,
Waylon Jennings, and Randy Travis in Particular ("He got me hooked,"
he says), and later Garth Brooks, Alan Jackson and George Straight.
He
went to college in Fort Wayne to play basketball and tennis, but
transferred after three years to MTSU, so as to be nearer to Nashville,
to mecca of country music. He graduated in 1997 with a degree
in mass communications, with the idea of doing something in radio
or TV. His jobs since then have been varied, from sales to management
to picking up golf balls on a driving range. The lure of the stage
holds him like a spell, and he keeps coming back to the music.
"I
love connecting to a crowd," he says (and the crowds love him).
"Like somebody said about me, from the minute I step on stage
I bring it."
Agnew
has self produced two CDs, "No Limits" and "Eric Agnew". Fans
can purchase either online at www.cdbaby.com,
as well as listen to samples of selected songs. Agnew is full-voiced
indeed, but mellow. He can go from lovesick crooning ("Different
Shade Of Blue,") to tenderness ("I couldn't Dream,") to defiance
("By George," written by Franklin resident Arlos Smith); his "Somebody
New On Her Mind," written by friend Sam Mullins, starts out melancholy,
then throws in a twist. You can feel the intensity of his devotion
to pure, traditional country in his far-ranging ballads.
Agnew
will perform two songs at the up-coming competition-one original,
one known. (He'll probably do Williams' "Lovesick Blues.") The
10 finalists will live together for eight weeks while competing
for the pot of gold. Whatever happens, Agnew is relishing his
day in the sun, and the exposure he's guaranteed to receive.
"It's
a struggle just to be heard in this business," he says. "I'm doing
this most of all just to get heard."
So
even if the big prize eludes him, he won't be discouraged one
little bit. Besides, he knows there's one place he can go where
he'll always be a hit.
"I'm
very big in Floyds Knobs," he says. |
