Star Attractions

It appears that country music will get its due at this year’s Ventura County Fair, which starts Wednesday. And things will go from a trot to a gallop as the fair progresses. Crystal Bernard, American Made, Cletus Bumpus and the Other Guys, and Country and More--comprising members of the local Old Time Fiddlers Assn.--will perform at various days and times starting Aug. 14.

And the last days of the fair clearly offer the highlight for country fans, with recording star Trisha Yearwood and her guest John Berry, (more on them later) set to perform Aug. 18. Tracy Lawrence shows up Aug. 20; Buck Page & the Original Riders of the Purple Sage arrive Aug. 21, and the Smokin’ Armadillos make a couple of appearances on Aug. 22.

When Tracy Lawrence takes the stage, fans may not recognize the Arkansas native since he cut his hair and shaved the mustache, but it’s a sure bet they’ll recognize some of his 16 No. 1 songs including “That’s How a Cowgirl Says Goodbye,” from “The Coast Is Clear,” his new album on the Atlantic label.

Last year’s hit, “Time Marches On,” earned Lawrence the 1996 Academy of Country Music nominations for best album, best song, best single, best male vocalist and best male entertainer of the year.

As popular a draw as Lawrence is, it would be hard to find a more dynamic duo than the one-two punch of Yearwood and Berry.

Known for his powerful tenor vocals, Berry, the 1996 Academy of Country Music best male vocalist nominee, will perform hits including “Change My Mind,” “She’s Taken a Shine” and the duet, “I Will if You Will,” all getting air play from his current Capitol CD, “Faces.”

Trisha Yearwood hit the country scene in 1991 as the opening act for Garth Brooks. It didn’t take long before she was named top new female vocalist by the Academy of Country Music in 1992. The Georgia native’s first four albums went platinum and her last album went gold. She has approximately 18 hit singles to her credit. And in 1994 Yearwood won a best country vocal collaboration Grammy with Aaron Neville for “I Fall to Pieces.”

The latest album, “Trisha Yearwood Songbook (A Collection of Hits),” to be released Aug. 26, will feature three new songs including a duet written by Garth Brooks. Yearwood called last week from her hotel in Alberta, Canada, where she was on tour.

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How do you decide what to record?

I’ve always been the one to choose my songs because I’m the one who’s gonna have to sing them for a long time. I’m very lyric-oriented. And I’ve always been drawn to tunes like “The Song Remembers When.” It had something to say that was intelligent and was a story.

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How does it feel to know your songs are being covered by almost every aspiring female and some male country singers on the club and fair circuit?

It’s very flattering but still very strange to me. I remember--especially as a younger woman before I got a record deal and made that leap--that period of time when I was being so heavily influenced by people like Linda Ronstadt and Patsy Cline that I just lived and breathed their music. And I can’t imagine that someone would feel that way about my music.

I’m still moved when I look out into an audience and see the crowd singing the words. I know they know that song because of me.

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You’ve turned down songs even though you felt they would have been dance hits. Care to comment?

You never know a song’s gonna be a hit. But you get a pretty good feeling. You might think, “Well, this is catchy and cute, but I’d be embarrassed to sing it.” And there are really good songs that you don’t record--not because you think they’re cheesy--but because for whatever reason you feel like it’s just not right in your hands.

The most recent example was “Strawberry Wine.” That’s been a huge career song for Deana Carter. It was written by Matraca Berg, one of my dear friends. But there was something about that song that I didn’t feel was right for me. I just choose songs from the gut, you know?

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Can you comment on this notion of predetermining which cuts will be singles off a CD.

Don’t you hate when you buy a record because you love a song on the radio? And you get home and the rest of the album is horrible? It’s a waste of your money. I’ve always believed that every song on your album should be important. When I first moved to Nashville, there was a trend--that doesn’t happen much any more--where artists would pick two or three songs that they knew would be radio singles. And then they didn’t care about the other seven. They’d be filler material, not very good songs. I wanted every song to be strong so that I could be confident that whatever they released as a single I could be happy about.

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To release a “greatest hits” album only six years into the game is an accomplishment. What’s next?

I feel like I’m going into a new chapter. “Everybody Knows” was an album I’m proud of. I worked a long time on it. And I didn’t just want to crank out another record. My fans had been asking for a greatest-hits album for over a year. At first I resisted. But I thought it would give me a good opportunity to sit back and reflect on what I’ve done. I’m lucky to be on a label that gives me a little more time. But still there’s that pressure to get those records out.

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Tell us about the three new songs on this album.

Garth [Brooks] and I have been friends for almost 10 years now. We’d talked about doing a duet for a long time. I’ve always sung on his records. He’s always been kind enough to sing with me when I’ve asked him to. There’s an energy in the studio working with him that’s unbelievable. It’s like two kids and they’re trying to out-sing each other. It makes the music so much fun when he’s involved because of the energy he brings to the project.

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And he wrote a ballad?

Yes. “In Another’s Eyes.” I thought it might go on his record and when we cut it he said, “If you want this for your record, just say so.” It’s a great gift he’s given me.

“Perfect Love” is one of those summertime up-tempo fun songs about how all the normal, mundane things you do is what makes your love perfect.

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How did the third song, “How Do I Live?” get picked for the movie, “Con Air”?

I don’t know. Usually country artists are the stepchildren of music. We get to sing in the movies that are about rodeos and cowboys, you know, rednecks. So it was exciting to me to have a song that was featured so much in the film it’s almost part of the score.

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You value being creative but you also hold a college degree from the music business program at Nashville’s Belmont College. Where do you draw the line?

So far I’ve been lucky. After six albums I’ve been able to maintain that fan base so I don’t have to compromise what I do. I have enough success at retailing and record sales that I can keep doing that. If I go so far inside myself and get so full of integrity that no one but my parents buy my records, then I’ll rethink it. But for now things are working.

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Do you feel a responsibility as a performer to be a role model?

I never thought about it until “She’s in Love With the Boy” came out. And all of a sudden I had about a million 12-and-under fans. I was getting letters from little girls saying they wanted to grow up to be like me. Older girls telling me their problems with their parents and little, bitty girls asking me to come over and spend the night.

Truthfully, children shouldn’t be worshiping people like me. They should be listening to their parents and they should be listening to real-life role models. But as celebrities, we do have that impact. And I do take the responsibility--especially in my public life. I think about what I say. I think about what I record.

My tour sponsor sends me out to colleges and I talk to kids about staying in school and about the business. If you’re lucky enough to be successful, you have to give it back somehow.

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BE THERE: Ventura County Fair country music lineup:

American Made: Aug. 14, 7 and 9 p.m., Miller Stage.

Crystal Bernard: Aug. 16, 7 and 9 p.m., Ventura Station Stage.

Cletus Bumpus and the Other Guys: Aug. 18, 7 and 9 p.m., Miller Stage.

Trisha Yearwood and John Berry: Aug. 18, 7:30 p.m., Grandstand Arena.

Country and More: Aug. 19, 11:30 a.m. and 6 p.m., Seabreeze Stage.

Tracy Lawrence and Matt King: Aug. 20, 7:30 p.m., Grandstand Arena.

Buck Page & the Original Riders of the Purple Sage: Aug. 21, noon and 1:30 p.m., Miller Stage.

Smokin’ Armadillos: Aug. 22, 7 and 9 p.m., Ventura Station Stage.