• What: Lady Antebellum, in concert.
• When: 8 p.m. Oct. 26.
• Where: Arlene Schnitzer Concert Hall, 1037 S.W. Broadway, Portland.
• Cost: $48.65 through Ticketmaster, 800-745-3000 or http://ticketmaster.com.
• Information: http://pcpa.com.
Good things come to those who are forced to wait.
OK, so that’s not exactly the famous saying. But the members of Lady Antebellum would vouch for the truth contained in that statement.
As multi-instrumentalist Dave Haywood explained in a recent phone interview, Lady Antebellum’s new CD, “Need You Now,” is much improved because the group postponed work on the album in order to accept an opening slot on last year’s Keith Urban tour.
“We wish we could have put it out last year,” Haywood said. “But I’ll tell you, we wouldn’t trade it for the world because we found two or three songs that (without them) I don’t think would have made this album half of what we think it is.”
• What: Lady Antebellum, in concert.
• When: 8 p.m. Oct. 26.
• Where: Arlene Schnitzer Concert Hall, 1037 S.W. Broadway, Portland.
• Cost: $48.65 through Ticketmaster, 800-745-3000 or <a href="http://ticketmaster.com">http://ticketmaster.com</a>.
• Information: <a href="http://pcpa.com">http://pcpa.com</a>.
One of those songs, “Hello World,” came into the picture literally just days before the final recording session.
“We were sending e-mails around, and we were like, ‘you know what, … we don’t have one of those deep songs that actually makes you think and really kind of gives you hope,’” Haywood said.
Then band member Hillary Scott showed the rest of the trio a tune she had come to like “and Charles (Kelley) and I were just blown away,” Haywood said.
“Hello World” is indeed a highlight of the new CD. Haywood said the trio spent a full day transforming the song from a simple acoustic ballad into a dramatic track that builds from a pretty piano-based beginning into a grand orchestral finish.
However, “Hello World” is not the song that gave “Need You Now” the major boost heading into its release. That honor belongs to the title track, which topped the Billboard country singles chart and was still in the top 10 when the CD was released in January. The second and third singles, “American Honey” and “Our Kind Of Love,” followed suit.
Haywood said the group has been surprised to see which songs become hit singles.
“‘I Run To You’ was our favorite song on the first record, but it was one of those things where we always said, ‘Yeah, that’s our favorite song, but it will never be a radio single,’” Haywood said.
That song did top the singles charts. It also won a pair of Country Music Association awards (including song of the year) and a Grammy.
The success of “I Run To You” influenced Lady Antebellum’s decision to make “Need You Now” the new album’s lead single. It also forced the group to realize that it needed some mid-tempo pop-oriented material on the second album to go with rocking tracks like “Love This Pain” and “Stars Tonight.”
The music on the “Need You Now” CD was also influenced by the close relationships that had developed between Haywood, Scott and Kelley.
Scott met Kelley in the summer of 2006 after seeing him perform at a Nashville night spot. They soon began writing songs together, and Kelley recruited his life-long friend Haywood to complete the lineup. By the next summer, the group had been signed by Capitol Records and was recording its debut album, which was released in spring 2008.
When they started recording “Need You Now” in early 2009, though, they had spent two years touring and a lot of time getting to know each other.
“The past two and a half years, we’ve been on the road every single day together, in town together,” Haywood said. “We hang out together. We know each other’s lives and we know what’s going on in each other’s worlds. … We’ve spent so much time together and we know each other that much better that I think we’re willing to take chances together and willing to put stuff on there that we wouldn’t have for the first record.”
Haywood, Scott and Kelley are still spending plenty of time together. They spent much of this year opening for country superstar Tim McGraw on his arena tour. Now Lady Antebellum is on its own headlining run.
Regardless of whether the band is opening a show or headlining, Haywood said the three have been trying to step up their performances.
“We’re trying to do some things that will be a little more exciting,” Haywood said. “We’ve kind of been just standing there and singing for the past two and a half, three years. It’s time to kind of have some other elements and try to create some drama to the show and try to entertain people as much as we can.”
