Thursday, June 17, 2004 | 8:13 a.m.
Clint Black went nearly five years without releasing an album, but the country star was far from idle during that time. The 42-year-old vocalist/guitarist relocated from Los Angeles to Nashville, Tenn., penned a slew of new songs and produced the debut album by Nashville Star talent search series winner Buddy Jewell.
Black - who performs Saturday night at Sunset Station - and wife/actress Lisa Hartman Black also gave birth to their first child, a daughter named Lily Pearl.
From a business perspective, however, Black's most significant action during his downtime might have been his evaluation of a music industry he describes as flawed. "You look at the great artists: the Merle Haggards and Johnny Cashes and Willie Nelsons. Whether the fans know it or not, they've all been beaten up severely over the years by this record label guy or that record label guy," Black said in a phone interview from his Nashville home last week.
"And before you know it, even those great musicians can disappear on you." Black resolved not to spend the remainder of his career fighting those types of battles. So when his contract with longtime home RCA Records expired, he opted not to accept any of the major label offers thrown his way.
Instead, Black founded Equity Music Group, an independent label with an approach its creator terms "radical."
"The record company is geared in the artist's interests first," Black said. "Because any service industry, if geared in the client's interests, should do well."
Equity's business plan differs dramatically from those of the majors, as the Texas native gleefully detailed.
"You own your own masters and lease them to the label," Black said. "You get paid from the first CD you sell; there's no formula by which five years from now they'll still be trying to figure out what they owe you.
"And the best thing about it is, once an artist has sold a half a million records, they'll become part owner in the company. There's a sizeable portion of the company that's set aside and will be shared by all the artists that achieve the predetermined sales level."
Black tapped longtime Nashville executive Mike Kraski to head up the day-to-day operations at Equity, an endeavor the singer hopes can make significant waves.
"I just think the whole (existing) system is really broken," he said. "I hear friends joke about their labels, you know, 'Five years from now, they're still trying to figure out what they owe you.'
"None of that's fair, but so many of us were really locked into it and dependent on those labels. Well, it's a new day and business can really change. We're gonna prove that."
Kentucky singer-songwriter Shannon Lawson has already joined the Equity artist roster, and Black hopes others will soon follow suit.
"None of my friends who are successful artists are saying, 'I'll be right there,' " Black said. "But I kind of sense some mouth watering there. They couldn't help but. It's a chance to own what you create.
In April, Black provided Equity with its first release, "Spend My Time," the singer's first CD of new material since 1999's "D'Lectrified."
Look for the veteran hitmaker to play material off his latest disc when he plays the Sunset Outdoor Amphitheater on Saturday. Doors open at 7 p.m., with the show scheduled to begin at 8.
Longtime fans should also get their fill of favored numbers, with Black promising to dig deep into a catalog that spans 15 years, back to Billboard Country chart-topping debut album, "Killin' Time."
"(My band and I) have been rehearsing, really tuning things up, since we haven't done a new tour -- quote, unquote -- for at least four years," said Black, who did play some dates, including a handful in Southern Nevada, during his recording hiatus.
"We're reaching back for some stuff we haven't done on tour for years like 'Nobody's Home' and some of the early hits. 'Better Man' and 'Killin' Time' always gotta be in there, and some of the other staples. And we've got some fun new arrangements, with opportunities for the guys in the band to play."
Though he's happy to look back on his career during live performances, Black's focus these days is the future, not only for his music and his label but also for his family.
His new estate houses a state-of-the-art recording studio, allowing him to spend more time close to his wife of 12 years and 3-year-old Lily.
"I've always had a home studio, but never one with a mixing room," Black said. "So I was able to mix the whole album at home on my console, which gave me a bigger hands-on capability.
"It also allowed me to feel more rooted while I was going through that process. I wasn't always running off to the studio; I was just going out to the back. And that allowed me a lot more time and focus on being a dad."
Black considered including another duet with Hartman Black -- best known for roles on "Knots Landing" and a slew of made-for-TV movies -- on the new album. The pair reached No. 1 with 1999's "When I Said I Do."
But ultimately, their role as new parents won out over a desire to collaborate in the studio.
"We wanted to get through these early years with Lily without Lisa having the pressure of being needed in New York to do the duet if Lily's got a cold," Black explained.
"We really agonized over it, but I didn't want her to have to deal with that. Once I get down the road a ways and Lily's a little older, we can get Lisa back in there."
Black said he may work up a part for his wife on one of his new songs so she can join him onstage from time to time. But for now Hartman Black will stay in Nashville while her husband heads out for his first major tour away from his expanded family.
"It's a mixed bag, because on one hand we're excited to bring the show out on the road and on the other hand we all have kids," Black said. "That's when you've gotta go the extra mile to make sure that everything out there is as fun as it can be. Because what you're missing back home is too important to be missing it for something that's just kind of OK."
