On a recent Tuesday morning, Tracy Lawrence had had enough of the snow burying the country's midsection.
He'd been on his tour bus since Saturday, trying to get home to Nashville from Billings, Mont.
"We've been running into closed interstates," he said, a hint of frustration coloring his rich Southern accent. "I'm ready to go see my babies. We should be home this afternoon unless we run into some more interstate problems."
The father of two daughters was also anxious to get home and back to work on an album he will begin recording early next month - possibly days after his concert at Desert Diamond Casino on Saturday.
Lawrence, 42, is teaming up again with über-Nashville producer James Stroud, with whom he recorded his early 1990s albums, including "Alibis," and his 2004 DreamWorks comeback record, "Strong."
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Stroud recently signed Lawrence to his upstart BamaJam Records, an imprint of Stroud's Stroudavarious Records. For the past several years, Lawrence had been recording on his own Rocky Comfort Records, which released "For the Love" in 2007 and the Grammy-nominated gospel disc "The Rock" in 2009.
"I just felt like it was time for me to go back to a company that has a full staff and the money and resources behind it," said Lawrence, who will dip into his stash of 30-plus self-penned songs for the project. "I'm excited. Looking forward to getting back with a big staff and getting stuff on radio."
His next album, which Lawrence said will be more edgy and contemporary, also might establish a new template for the recording industry.
"The album will just be a six-song package with a $5.99 price point. . . . We're going to do a six-song package every six months, and at the end of the two-year period we'll do a compilation package at a different price point," he explained, sounding every bit the record executive he has been the past several years.
"Everything is so single-song-driven now. You have to get down to where you can compete with that 99-cent-a-song download. You just can't do it."
So basically, you'll be releasing an album in phases.
"In phases, absolutely. And we'll work one single per package to radio. If one hits, then we will back off and not release that second project in that six-month period."
This is sort of reinventing the record.
"It will be more fast-paced. We're going to be doing a lot more Internet marketing and try to find creative ways to get the music out to the people. Do a lot of stuff with satellite radio. There's actually some conglomerates in commercial-format radio now that are going down to a seven-song playlist. . . . It is ridiculous. They are sucking the life out of the format is what they're doing."
You're an old-school, traditional guy. Is it hard to embrace the Internet and digital downloads and such?
"I think you have to go with the flow. I don't really think there's any other way around it. You've just got to find a way to get your music out to the fans. My fan base is still strong. There are really a lot of people out there who love traditional country music, but radio is just not playing it."
If you go
• What: Tracy Lawrence in concert.
• When: 8 p.m. Saturday.
• Where: Desert Diamond Casino, 1100 W. Pima Mine Road, off Interstate 19.
• Tickets: $20 in advance through ticketmaster.com ($25 the day of the show).
• Et cetera: This is the official concert for the 2010 La Fiesta de los Vaqueros rodeo.
