"Kid Rock follows his own path in music"

Published: Friday, July 08, 2011, 12:15 PM

By LYNN ONDRUSEK, The Patriot-News

IF YOU GO

Kid Rock’s Born Free tour with Sheryl Crow, 7 p.m. Sunday at Hersheypark Stadium. Tickets: $35.50, $55.50, $65.50 and $95.50. Info: 717-534-3911, www.hersheyparkstadium.com

Ask Kid Rock about finally touring with Sheryl Crow, and he’ll tell you it seemed like a natural fit.

Friends for years, the two also have recorded together, including the songs “Picture” and, most recently, “Collide.”

So, when their schedules meshed, the two decided to hit the road, and the Born Free tour was, well, born.

They’ll perform at 7 p.m. Sunday at Hersheypark Stadium.

It’s not the first time Kid Rock has been to Hershey, but he said this will be one of his better tours.

He promises the show will be a mix of stripped-down acoustics and pyrotechnics and wants fans to know he and Crow plan to rock the stadium. Expect his usual mix of blues, rock and country.

Kid Rock took the music world by storm in 1998, mixing rock and rap for his signature style. In recent years, he’s branched out with his clothing line Made in Detroit, which created jobs in his hometown, and a scholarship fund for students studying the business and performance aspects of music at Wayne State University.

In an interview, he offered insights into the Born Free tour and how his music and business interests have evolved.

Q: Why did you decide to team up with Sheryl Crow for your tour?

A: It just seemed natural to me. We just did a new song on the record, and we never did a proper tour together all these years. It just seemed right. She was available. She came to my 40th birthday party, and it was such a great time. I don’t want people to think we’re going to be slow dancing to “Picture.” No, anyone who knows Sheryl, and knows my stuff, knows we like to rock. You just don’t know what’s going to happen. We talked about it and said let’s just pick different songs and go out and rock them.

Q: Some would say your music has changed into rock and country from the rap-rock it was. Would you say that as well?

A: I’m a music fan, and I love all kinds of music. If you put everything together [that I’ve done] it would, in some weird way, make sense. I just try to put the best music out there that I can. I wish there was some science to it but there’s not, it’s just from my heart.

Q: You support the troops, you have your own clothing line, you make beer, and you have the scholarship fund. What don’t you do?

A: First thing, I don’t do politically correct [laughs]. It was stuff that made sense. Playing live has been a part of the business, as well as selling T-shirts and selling beer. I’m not educated on all walks of life, but I do know and care about music. And I do know about beer. It was good for Detroit. It helped the state and the city. It also employs friends and people I don’t know. Gives me a sense of my hometown and encourages people to be proud of where you’re from.

Q: What drew you to pursue music as a kid?

A: You know what, I was so young I don’t know. It was one of those things that just hit me — from beating pots and pans and listening to albums for hours to DJing. I guess anything that strikes us to follow a path in life.

Q: You’ve been around in the music scene since 1998. How do you deal with the changing times?

A: There is no real plan in place yet. I’m kind of a person that I can’t fight a battle that I don’t have a possibility of winning. I’m just going with the punches.

Q:What should Hershey concertgoers expect from your show?

A:I never had a better catalog of songs to pull from. The band has never been as tight as before. I’ve never been singing as well as now. So it’s all cylinders a go.

Q: Why do you like coming to Hershey?

A: Go where you celebrate it and not where you tolerate it. A wise man once told me that. There is nowhere in America I don’t like to play.

http://blog.pennlive.com/go/2011/07/kid_rock_follows_his_own_path.html