Used with permission of CMA Closeup News Service
By Bobby Reed
For Dierks Bentley, "Lot of Leavin' Left To Do" is more than the title of a hit single he co-wrote. It's an apt description of his lifestyle.
"I take pride in the fact that my band and I probably play more shows than anyone else in town," Bentley said. "We do 220 to 240 shows a year."
Bentley has been on tour almost constantly since August 2003, when Capitol Records Nashville released his self-titled, major-label, Platinum debut. He has headlined and shared the stage with some of the biggest names in the business, opening for Kenny Chesney, Toby Keith and George Strait.
Bentley can handle any venue. If there's a stage, he'll plug in and play. Bentley has performed at festivals, coliseums, casinos, colleges, county fairs, rodeos, rock clubs, raceways, military bases, amphitheaters, gymnasiums, and even fraternity houses.
After spending all that time on the road, it's not surprising that Bentley's new album, Modern Day Drifter, would contain a theme of restlessness and roaming. Bentley hopes to build on the success of his eponymous album, which yielded the No. 1 single "What Was I Thinkin'."
Artistically, Modern Day Drifter is not a sharp departure from the sound of its predecessor, but Bentley pointed out a couple of differences between the two albums.
"I think I'm singing better, and that probably comes from having done so many shows last year," Bentley explained. "This album digs in a little deeper. I used the steel guitarist from my road band, Gary Morse. He played on the whole album. He has a great, West Coast tone to his steel playing, so it's a little edgier, a little dirtier."
Bentley, now 29, is a native of Phoenix who moved to Nashville when he was 19. To make ends meet, the aspiring songwriter took an internship at the Country Music Association, did archival video research for The Nashville Network's miniseries "A Century of Country," and later held an administrative job in the network's royalties department.
Bentley also fell in with the bluegrass pickers at the Station Inn club and independently released an album titled Don't Leave Me in Love. He eventually landed a publishing deal with Sony/ATV Tree Music Publishing, which led to his contract with Capitol Records Nashville.