And you don't get any more an outsider than Lewis, who grew up in Massachusetts and has spent nearly two decades at the helm of a very successful hard rock band, singing songs like Staind's breakthrough hit, ' Mudshovel'. Even more daunting is doing likewise with the traditionally insular world of country music, which hasn't always been accepting of outsiders. A few have said things like, 'I never would have listened to country music before you, and now I find myself looking for other country music to listen to.''īut convincing longtime fans of his crossover to country is one thing. And then there are Staind fans that are enjoying what I'm doing. 'There are definitely Staind fans that wish that I would stop it and go back to Staind. 'I'll be honest with you, it's been a little mixed,' Lewis tells the Connecticut Post of his reception as a country artist. For his efforts, Lewis has come up against a lot of close-minded people. Aaron's gone deep into old school country, into the backwoods, the musical stomping grounds of some of his idols like Waylon Jennings, Johnny Cash, Hank Williams Sr. And this isn't country-lite we're talking here either. Aaron's foray into country is the real deal. The 15 million-plus records he's sold in his career already with Staind don't mean jack to country fans. Starting over from scratch in a new genre is difficult. This genre flip is not some passing fancy for Lewis. Since those first hesitant steps, he's been busting his butt in an attempt to carve out a sideline career in country music in between his work with Staind. Lewis has been priming fans for this move for some time, slipping 'Country Boy' in between 'It's Been Awhile' and 'Everything Changes' on those unplugged gigs. Deal with it.Īnyone who's attended one of Aaron's solo acoustic tours as far back as three years ago can't say they didn't see it coming.

Judging by some of the scathing comments on social media during his country tour this summer, and by the few hecklers in the audience at a recent Aaron Lewis date in Pittsburgh (although considerably fewer than a performance here less than a year ago), some fans are slow in getting the memo or worse, are in complete denial. Not all his fans are on board with Lewis's about-face, however, and those who are not have been vocal about it. The sullen, bodaciously-inked Lewis, who made a name for himself as one of heavy metal's all-time top vocalists and purveyors of angst, is trying a new genre on for size-namely, country. And then there are those who swap genres in answer to a calling, like Staind's Aaron Lewis. Others venture into a different genre to rejuvenate a flagging career, à la the Bee Gees, who were a harmonizing soft rock act before they became disco deities. Fleetwood Mac began as a blues outfit before burning up the charts as a pop rock band with the addition of Lindsey Buckingham and Stevie Nicks. For some, the switch is instigated by a lineup change. For some, like Soundgarden and Audioslave frontman Chris Cornell, whose unlikely collaboration with hip-hop producer Timbaland had fans in an uproar, a change in artistic direction scratches an itch.

Country song buddy we go back a while