Eric Church Matures on Second CD

Eric Church performs at the "Totally Country Show" at the Greased Lightning Riverfront Daytime Stages Friday, June 6 in Downtown Nashville during the 2008 CMA Music Festival. Photographer: Theresa Montgomery / CMA

Sept. 2, 2008 — Eric Church turned plenty of heads with his debut CD, Sinners Like Me, which hit the Top 10 on the Billboard country albums chart in 2006.

Sinners had a big, dangerous sound to it, but Eric won’t be copying himself with his sophomore album, Carolina.

"People will see a change with the next record," he told The Manitowoc Herald Times Reporter in Wisconsin. "It's more diverse. The first one, I was a single guy, and it was gritty. This one, I'm married. There's more intimacy."

Eric has lived his last few years as a road warrior, trying to build his audience city by city by simply getting out and introducing his music to as many people as possible. As a result, he’s played at least 200 shows annually for three straight years. If he had any doubts about that approach, they were silenced by another artist who’s sold more than 50 million albums.

"Some of the best advice I ever got was from Kenny Rogers," Eric noted. "He said to me, 'The way you go to the top is the way you'll go back down to the bottom. Slow and steady will sustain you. Hard work is the way to go.' I'm trying to follow his advice."

Given that he’s still a newlywed, that creates some major conflict in Eric’s life: Time on the road is good for the career but also puts a strain on any relationship. That pretty much guarantees some hefty phone bills.

"I've found out pretty quick that's the secret to a happy marriage," he laughed. "Talk on the phone a lot."

No release date has been announced thus far for Carolina.