Vince Gill chooses to mix it up in concert

By Evan Henerson

Los Angeles Daily News

If there's a particular number you want to hear during a Vince Gill concert, go ahead and shout it out. Assuming Gill still knows the tune, he'll probably sing it.

That's quite an "if." The prolific country superstar has been making music since 1983, and he admits that he doesn't remember every number. But he's game to try.

"There's no set list. We'll kind of try to play what they want to hear. I don't have a new record, so this is a way to go and do something totally different than what I did last time," says Gill, a 19-time Grammy winner.

"Last time I came out with a 17-piece band, with horns and a bluegrass band. It was a circus. This time it's me and an acoustic guitar telling stories and singing songs."

The lack of structure is vintage Gill, says keyboardist and longtime friend John Hobbs.

"Vince makes up a new set list every night, so you never know what you're going to play. He changes the key around just for fun or to experiment. I don't think he's listened to his records - any of them - since he made them."

Should the requests dry up, Gill might have occasion to try out a few new songs he's been developing, but he says a new album is still more than a year away. He recently had knee surgery, and the death of steel guitar-playing friend John Huey ("I'm not in a hurry to go make an album with him," Gill says) has kept the singer from heading back to the studio.

Given that his last output - the Grammy-winning "These Days" (2006) was a four-disc box set with 43 new songs - Gill's probably entitled to a break.

Not that he's sitting at home.

At 51, he is a go-to singer/guitarist when an artist - young or established - needs a guest. He is currently featured on albums by George Strait, Patty Loveless and Brad Paisley and on an upcoming album by actor Steve Martin.

"He never says no to anybody," says Hobbs, who co-produced "These Days." "I've never seen anybody with his level of success extend themselves to new artists the way he does."

Gill's benefit schedule - from musical gigs to the annual "Vinny" golf tournament - also takes up more than a few nights, particularly at home in Nashville.

"Somebody's always needing a singer or songwriter guy," he says. "I always do that joke that I've never gotten paid to play in Nashville. I play for free primarily."

And then there's the road.

The acoustic tour, which includes a stop Saturday in Virginia Beach, covers some of the same venues that Gill's wife - contemporary Christian songstress Amy Grant - has just played during her 20th-year anniversary Lead Me On tour.

For this acoustic tour, Gill will be joined by musicians Pete Wasner, Billy Thomas and Mike Bubb.

"Billy's a great drummer, and he plays this little instrument called a cajon box. You hit it, and it sounds like a kick drum," Gill says. "Mike Bubb, who plays upright bass, spent 13 years with the Del McCoury Band and has played with all the greats in bluegrass. We're a fun little band. We're hardly a band at all, but we call ourselves one."

The Norman, Okla.-born Gill spent several years living by the beach in L.A. during the late '70s.

"It was pretty magical. I was young, and the women were beautiful. I had a couple of favorite tiny joints that I loved to go eat at. I was a regular, so I'd walk in and they'd start cooking. Nothing much was going on. I had total freedom and no responsibilities, per se. I loved living out there."

Gill then secured his first record deal in 1983 for what would become his debut mini album, "Turn Me Loose." He signed with RCA and relocated to Nashville.

The rest, as they say, is history. He's sold more than 26 million albums, earned 18 Country Music Association Awards and hosted the CMA Awards for 12 years, from 1992 to 2003.

In August 2007 he was inducted into the Country Music Hall of Fame, an event Gill calls "life-changing."

Change in the Country Music Association's eligibility requirements allowed a limited number of artists whose careers started after 1975, which opened the door for Gill.

"In the first two inductions, Alabama and George Strait got in, and I was next. I'm sure you'll see people like Reba McEntire, Hank Williams Jr. and Don Williams follow suit."

Upon learning of his induction, Gill says he moved from the "other people are more worthy than I am" frame of mind to acceptance.

"I looked at my career - not only what I've done for my own career, but for other people, the sessions and charity work....

"I didn't feel like I needed to apologize for going in there. I feel like now I want to kind of earn it in a sense with what I do from this day forward. I want people to hear for the next 10 to 20 years, however many years I get to sing well enough, to make that be the legacy and show that I earned it. I'm inspired to do even better."

He might have a tough time topping his last product. "These Days" was four separate CDs spanning four musical genres: traditional country, ballads, contemporary up-tempo and acoustic/bluegrass.

Hobbs says Gill's only hints at any upcoming project is that the next one will be "gutbucket country."

Maybe he'll cut 86 songs this time?

"Maybe one," Gill counters, laughing. "One downloadable song."