Although "The Celebrity Apprentice" introduced Trace Adkins to a whole mess of folks outside the country music scene, he said America didn't get a good look at the real Trace Adkins.
He said the real Trace -- faced with some of those notoriously nasty fellow contestants -- would've started a fistfight. Or two. Or 10. But because he was on TV representing a charity, he kept his instincts in check.
"There were times, if left to my own devices, I probably would've given someone a beatin' and be done with it," said the imposing 6-foot-6 singer.
"But I just went outside, smoked some cigarettes, cooled off. The producers would come out and say, 'You've been out here 45 minutes, you need to come back inside,' and I'd say, 'No. I don't.'?"
Adkins said that unlike some of the "celebrities" on the show (Nely Galan? Anyone?) he didn't really need the career boost. As far as Nashville's concerned, Adkins, 46, is a made man with four No. 1 singles, three platinum records and the 2005 crossover sensation "Honky Donk Badonkadonk" under his big ol' belt buckle.
In a phone interview this month, he said he did reality TV for his family. When his daughter Brianna was 9 months old, she was exposed to peanut butter for the first time and swelled beyond recognition. They rushed her to the ER. "It was terrifying," he said. "We just had no idea what was happening to her."
Since then, Adkins' family has worked closely with the Food Allergy and Anaphylaxis Network. The TV show was a way for him to raise awareness and money for the nonprofit organization.
He came in second on the show, but because of support from fans and country radio, the organization has pulled in more than the show's $250,000 prize. "I've had people come up and just hand me checks," he said.
Adkins plays the Sullivan Arena on Thursday.
His latest No. 1 is the nostalgia bomb "You're Going to Miss This," guaranteed to be played at every graduation from Lubbock, Texas, to Bismarck, N.D. Watch the video, and that's where you'll see the real Trace Adkins. Shot in his hometown of Springhill, La., footage includes the high school where he became a small-town football star, his great aunt's diner and, in the last frames, his dad.
Family is priority for Adkins these days. In his new book, "A Personal Stand: Observations and Opinions From a Freethinking Redneck," he outlines his struggle with alcoholism and dysfunctional relationships (his first wife shot him in the chest).
Now, with five daughters and a third wife, he relishes his second chance in the roles of husband and dad. Yes, even the times when he's out on the porch meeting the boyfriends. "I just give 'em a good, firm handshake and tell 'em I've been to jail, and I'm not scared to go back," he laughed.
When he's not wrapping his cavernous baritone around songs about family and marriage in "Hot Mama" or "I Left Something Turned on at Home," Adkins is usually singing about male swagger ("I Got My Game On") or redneck philosophy ("Rough and Ready").
These days, most pictures of Adkins employ slick suits and glamour lighting. But he said he's still a country boy, and when he sings about country life, he's sincere. Want proof? He's still holding onto that long, blond ponytail years after his Nashville colleagues have hit the barber chair.
"I worked on drillin' rigs and oil fields for a long time, and where I grew up, it truly was rural," he said. "My old man still raises cattle, and if you went to his house today and knocked on the door, it's 99 percent certain he'd come to the door wearing overalls with no shirt," he said.
"That's my old man. That's how I grew up, and that's how I still am. Yes, I do have means now, but I'm still that person. That can of snuff in my pocket's not for show."
Find Play reporter Sarah Henning at adn.com/contact/shenning or call 257-4323.
Skin and song
As much as Trace Adkins is known for his comic acting in music videos, his other video hallmark is skin. Lots of it. Videos for songs such as "Honky Tonk Badonkadonk" contain some of the most risque material on CMT. His video vixens in bras and hot pants are a far cry from a decade ago, when CMT was getting protest calls about Shania Twain's exposed bellybutton.
"We get 'em as naked as we think we can get away with," Adkins said, laughing. "On numerous occasions, we've turned in videos to CMT and they spit 'em back to us and said, 'You're going to have to take that part out.'?"
Adkins said his wife, Rhonda, a former record label publicist, gets it. "She's cool."
Watch Adkins' video "You're Gonna Miss This" here.
Tall, dark and ugly
Look for Trace Adkins in two films this year. "American Carol" is a satirical take on "A Christmas Carol" starring Kelsey Grammer as Ebenezer Scrooge. "Trailer Park of Terror" obviously is a B horror flick starring undead trailer trash.
In both, Adkins plays versions of the devil. "It's pretty much the same exact character," he said. "I don't know why I keep getting typecast. Perhaps 'cause I'm 6-foot-6 and ugly."
Watch the trailer for "Trailer Park of Terror" at trailerparkofterror.com.
Trace Adkins
With The Ken Peltier Band
When: 7:30 p.m. Thursday
Where: Sullivan Arena
How much: $43.50-$46.50, 562-4800, ticketmaster.com
Web: www.traceadkins.com, myspace.com/traceadkins
By Sarah Henning
shenning@adn.com