Rising country star Chris Lane took a pit stop on his current tour with the Rascal Flats to sit down with ABC News and tell us a little bit more about country’s freshest face and sound before the release of his highly anticipated album.
And though his visit may have only been in hopes of catching a glimpse of Jojo Fletcher (he did not, unfortunately), the North Carolina native and “Fix” singer let us in on a few of the lesser-known things about him.
1. He didn’t grow up dreaming of becoming a country singer.
As a child, Chris Lane saw baseball cards rather than records in his future.
“I grew up playing football and baseball, and moved on to play college baseball and, you know, as a kid, my dream was to play professional baseball,” he told ABC News. “And even when I got to college I thought that’s what I would currently be doing, but I had several knee surgeries that really hurt my chances at that.”
With baseball out of the picture, Lane moved back home after college and helped his dad with a landscaping business. But in the downtime from his surgeries, and with some inspiration from Keith Urban, he started playing around with the guitar and then singing.
His first band performed covers until, eventually, Lane decided to give writing a go.
“Over the years I decided to write my own music for the first time, and it turned into all this,” he said. “It’s pretty crazy.”
So even though his dream to become a professional athlete didn’t work out — he attributes his luck on the basketball court to the fact that “I’m like 4’8” (he’s taller than that, for the record) — it seems everything worked out for the best.
“Once I got into the music, I realized that I had a passion for it that far outweighed what it was for baseball.”
Next time you tag Chris Lane in a photo, you might want to double-check that it’s actually him.
Lane has an identical twin brother, Cory, who also plays drums in his band.
“It’s really cool to start something and to have him still be a part of it for sure,” Lane said of his brother. “And we tend to make everything a competition, whether its playing golf or whether its who can run the fastest or who can pick up that rock and throw it the farthest — whatever it may be.”
“It’s good to have that still out on the road and just to have family out there,” he added.
But for fans, it can get a bit tricky.
About a year ago, Cory was dying his hair to differentiate himself from his brother. But now, with the two having the same hair style and beard, there’s very little to help the average fan tell them apart.
“I probably get tagged in 20, 30 photos a night of him saying ‘just met Chris Lane!’” the singer admits with a laugh. “I’m like, ‘Well, I guess I’m reaching more people that way but …’”
3. He’s a real people person.
There’s one thing that becomes immediately clear when you sit down with Lane (aside from his aptitude for skinny jeans) — he absolutely loves talking to people.
In fact, connecting with people is one of his favorite things about touring.
“When I first started as a cover band I built everything based on hanging out every night after the shows and talking to as many people as I can and making relationships,” he told us. “And I continue to do the same exact thing to this day, I mean I still do meet-and-greets after my set on Rascal Flats tour, whatever it may be. Just to meet as many people as possible.”
His propensity for schmoozing is something he inherits from his dad.
“He will talk to anybody and everybody and I tend to do the same thing,” Lane admits.
“You never know who you’re gonna meet or what story you may hear. I think that’s the fun part.”
Lane has been pretty vocal about his fondness for the most recent bachelorette, Jojo, and admits the show is a guilty pleasure of his.
On the night of the season finale, Lane was at a baseball game, and asked via Twitter that no one ruin it for him. Moments later, a Snapchat from a friend revealed the winner. Needless to say, he was less than pleased.
“You know what, I mean if she’s happy, I’m all for it you know, whatever makes her happy,” he said, with a bit of hesitation. “But I thought it would be a different outcome.”
In a Q&A session on Twitter, Lane admitted he was really hoping Jojo would choose him. Step aside, Jordan.
5. He really loves golf. Like, a lot.
The topic of golf comes in a close second after music among the subjects most discussed during our interview.
While on tour, Lane has been able to get in plenty of rounds with the Rascal Flats — whom he describes as “the funniest people I’ve ever met in my life” — before their shows, and the time on the course together has made them even better friends, according to Lane.
“They love golf. I’m obsessed with golf. So we got to play a lot of really good courses,” he said “I love that.”
And as a testament to his recent success, this tour comes with a bus for Lane, rather than having to drive a van. The perks of the bus are, of course, arriving at each venue well rested and “getting to do cool things like golf all day.”
To sum it up: “Golf during the day, music during the night, it don’t get much better.”
Source: http://abcnews.go.com/Entertainment/things-rising-country-star-chris-lane/story?id=41099914
Article By: Ricki Harris
