Quite possibly the best guitar player on modern radio, Brad Paisley is definitely my favorite country star of today. Brad is a witty lyricist and a hell of a singer, and has a way with the fans that is seldom seen. From his fairly interactive blog to his abundance of meet and greets for each concert, he is a fan favorite.

In an interview with NPR Radio, Brad talks about how his grandfather got him started playing the guitar. His grandfather, who worked the night shift on the railroad, urged him to play the guitar at a young age. He gave Brad his first guitar when he was eight years old. At first he was resistant saying “I kind of fought it for a while because at eight, you want to play sports or do anything other than something that hurts your hand. But the thing that kept me going was knowing how bad he wanted me to do that. How bad he wanted me to be a player. Because I think he enjoyed it so much I think he wanted me to be able to have that in my life… he changed my life in a way that no one ever will be able to again. His advice to me was, ‘Anything that’s going wrong in your life, you can pick this guitar up and it’ll go away.’”

To start our week, let’s watch some classic Brad Paisley and say a thanks to his grandpappy for the gift he’s given us fans! This is “Nervous Breakdown” from his album “Time Well Wasted” which peaked on the Billboard Top Country Album charts at #1, and Top 200 Album (in all genres) at #2 in 2005.

Brad is currently enjoying his recent win of “Best Country Instrumental Performance” for “Throttleneck” off his most recent album “5th Gear“.

For Brad Paisley 2008 concert tour dates, artist biographies and event details, please visit our partner site Country Music On Tour
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