Post by happychick13 on Aug 12, 2005 6:32:35 GMT -5
Family values first for rising country star Evans
August 5, 2005
BY BOBBY REED
To paraphrase the title of a Sara Evans hit single, she couldn't ask for more.
Evans has plenty of reasons to be cheerful, and her effervescence was obvious during a recent interview. Evans is happily married, she has three adorable kids, and her latest single, "A Real Fine Place to Start,'' is at No. 11 and climbing up the Billboard country singles chart.
As if that wasn't enough, the 34-year-old chanteuse is still giddy about her inclusion in the 2005 edition of People magazine's annual "50 Most Beautiful People'' issue, published in May.
"I was in a car with my publicist, and when she told me the news, I just screamed my head off,'' Evans recalled recently from her tour bus in Colorado. "And then, the better news was that they wanted my kids in the picture with me. That was just so awesome to me because the things that I care about most are my family and promoting family values. It was like the highlight of my career.''
That last statement is probably hyperbolic. Evans' career has included many highlights, such as reaching the top of Billboard's country singles chart with "No Place That Far,'' "Born to Fly'' and "Suds in the Bucket.'' She also had smash hits with "Perfect'' and "I Could Not Ask for More.''
That acclaim landed her one of the hottest country concert tours of the summer. Saturday night at the Tweeter Center, Evans will perform in the middle slot on a bill that includes superstar Alan Jackson and the husband-and-wife duo the Wrights.
But it's the "promoting family values" that drives Evans, who is married to political consultant Craig Schelske. She performed at the 2004 Republican National Convention, but despite her husband's deep involvement in politics Evans is an entertainer who generally steers clear of political issues when she's in public.
"I'm not going to step out and be really vocal about anything political,'' Evans said. "I saw what it did to the Dixie Chicks. Now, privately, I definitely have my strong opinions, and I support different groups. My main thing is being an advocate for families, keeping the family unit together, and trying to prevent divorce in America. That's my main platform, and I don't think that could offend anybody.''
Also of importance to Evans is the plight of the family farmer. Evans grew up on a farm in Missouri, and several generations of Schelske's family owned an Oregon farm before losing it due to foreclosure. Evans said she hopes she'll be asked to participate in the Farm Aid fund-raising concert on Sept. 18 at the Tweeter Center.
"I lived on a farm, and my parents still live on that same farm,'' Evans explained. "I'm totally a farm kid, and it's very, very special to me. One of the biggest tragedies in America is that so many of these small, family farms are dying away. I just hate that. It breaks my heart.''
For Saturday's concert, Evans has devised a set list that includes numbers from her highly anticipated album "Real Fine Place,'' slated for release on Oct. 4. Audiences at Evans' recent shows have been enthusiastically responding to the new, twangy song "Cheatin'.''
"I'm thrilled beyond belief about this album,'' Evans said. "After we released "Suds in the Bucket,' I was so happy because I realized that the fans really do want country music. For a while it was hard to believe that. A lot of us were thinking, 'Maybe the fans just don't relate like I do to real, traditional country music.' Then we released 'Suds in the Bucket' and it was my biggest hit ever. So when we went in to record this new album, I just made it really country. I picked all these songs that took me back to my childhood and the types of music that I sang when I was growing up. The whole vibe of this album is country from top to bottom.''
Bobby Reed is a Chicago freelance writer.
www.suntimes.com/output/music/wkp-news-sara05.html
