Black hat and blue collar

Wednesday, Nov. 15, 2006 | 7:11 a.m.

What: Trace Adkins with Billy Currington and Jason Aldean

When: 8 p.m. Friday

Where: Mandalay Bay Events Center

Tickets: $36.75 and $57.75; 632-7777

Country music phenomenon Trace Adkins is a blue-collar worker who left the oil rigs 10 years ago and found success in the spotlight.

His 1996 debut album "Dreamin' Out Loud" contained the hits "(This Ain't) No Thinkin' Thing" and "Every Light in the House."

And the hits just keep comin' - "I Left Something Turned on at Home," "Chrome," "I'm Tryin'," "Hot Mama," "Rough and Ready" and, of course, the mega-hit "Honky Tonk Badonkadonk," from the equally megaselling album "Songs About Me."

Adkins' most recent album, "Dangerous Man," was certified "gold" five weeks after making its debut at No. 1 on Billboard's country albums chart and at No. 3 on the Top 200 for albums of all genres. The singles "Dangerous Man" and "Swing" have been going great guns.

During a recent telephone interview, Adkins' low baritone made the receiver rumble as he shared his views on a variety of subjects.

On picking winning songs

We have an A&R department (artist and repertoire) at the record label. Then my producer has a hand in it. A lot of friends. Songwriters. Folks around Nashville. We're back in the process right now of making the next album. I get songs from all different quarters, from all different kinds of people. It's just a long, interesting process. You never know where the songs are going to come from.

On recording without a break between albums

Yeah. That's pretty much the way we've done it over the last 10 years or so. We just keep on working. We'll probably go into the studio in December or January and start working on this next one. We don't have the whole lineup, but we've got enough to get started. We've got enough to go in and track a couple of days in the studio.

On "Dangerous Man"

It was a song written by Craig Wiseman. I've recorded several of Craig's songs over the years. "Dangerous Man" was just a song that I liked. I liked what it says, and we did it. It's impossible to predict what's going to be a hit. If we all knew what the secret was and what was going to become a big hit, this wouldn't even be any work.

On golf

I was the first to play on a new golf course before it even opened. I don't get a whole lot of requests like that. It was just one of those things. We were down in Biloxi (Mississippi) a couple of weeks ago doing a show down there, and they were opening up a new golf course just about 20 miles or so north of town, and we had an opportunity to play it before anybody else did. It was great. I play it a lot. I'm not any good at it, but it's a great way to waste an afternoon.

On his listening habits

To tell you the truth, I just don't listen to a whole lot of music right now these days, other than stuff I'm working on and stuff that we're considering recording. That's about all I do when I'm listening to music now. My life is really busy outside the studio and off the stage. I've got five kids (ages 2 to 21). I'm pretty much just a normal dad, too, so I've got all those duties and responsibilities, too. Music doesn't consume my whole life. I do it and I enjoy it and I work at it, but I don't have as much time to be a student of it as I used to.