Fresh off the October 24th release of his 15th studio album, Clancy’s Tavern, Toby Keith took time out of the European leg of his Locked & Loaded tour to sit down and talk to TheCountrySite.com’s European correspondent Marloes Lucy Duizer in this exclusive one-on-one interview.

Toby’s European tour has taken him to several locations in Scandinavia and the UK, and we talked to Toby prior to his packed show at the Paradiso, a small historic concert venue in the heart of Amsterdam. He’ll play a sold out show at ‘Huxley’s Neue Welt’ in Berlin, Germany to end this leg of his European tour.

When we asked Toby about his European tour, he said, “I didn’t make it out to Holland and Germany during my last tour two years ago, so we’re stretching it out a little bit this year.”

The venues are much smaller than those he’s used to playing in at home in the U.S., but when it comes down to the music, there’s not much of a difference between his European and American fans. Said Toby, “It’s only my second time out in Europe and I’ve played in the states for sixteen years. Playing big stadiums doesn’t happen over night.

Each country is different, so we may have to adjust the setlist every night to match what they’re hearing. Some of the UK radio stations just picked up ‘Trying To Fall In Love’, a song on the Clancy’s Tavern album, and others may play songs that weren’t released as singles. If the local radio stations play them, I’ll try to play them that night to please the audience.”

Toby Keith definitely has plenty of hits to choose from. ‘Made In America’, the first single released off Clancy’s Tavern recently became his 29^th number one hit. He said, “Out of those 29 number ones, I’ll pick 18-20 that I can play over here. I’ll play those and some of the new stuff. That’s the way we do it every night.”

Some of his number one hits like ‘Courtesy Of The Red, White & Blue’, ‘American Soldier’ and ‘American Ride’ are geared towards an American crowd, and he acknowledges that these songs are better received by his fans back home. “It’s a different crowd and a different country. I wouldn’t think Americans would want to hear a European guy playing songs dedicated to his military.

I didn’t play any of them until the last night of my previous European tour when someone in the back of the room in Norway held up a gigantic sign asking me to play it. So, I played it as an encore. But, I’ve got plenty of hits that are all about drinking.”

Toby is well known for supporting the troops, and when asked about it, he explained it all started with his father. “When my dad was stationed overseas, Bob Hope was always bringing movie stars and singers with him on USO tours. That kind of went away when Bob stopped doing it and then passed away. There was a big void, so nine years ago, I decided to go on my first USO tour in honor of my father. Since then, I’ve played 180 shows for British, Australian and American troops. We’ve been trying to champion the campaign to get other acts to come out and perform as well.”

One of the surprise hits from Clancy’s Tavern is the quirky but brilliant Red Solo Cup. Even though it hasn’t been released as an official single, Toby and writers Jim & Brett Beavers and Brad & Brett Warren decided to shoot a hilarious music video for the song and released it on the internet. “I knew the big video companies and radio stations wouldn’t play it because it’s not a typical song they like to play. In about eight to ten days, we had a million and a half hits on YouTube and radio stations started playing it on their own. It sure is the stupidest song I’ve ever done, but it’s so contagious that when people hear it, they just adore it. It’s one of those sing-a-long songs.”

The title song, Clancy’s Tavern, is a very personal song for Toby. “The song is about the bar my grandmother used to own and kind of sounds like an Irish folk song. I co-wrote it with Scotty Emerick, and it’s my favorite song on the album.”

‘Club Zydeco Moon’, a song full of vivid imagery co-written by Eddy Raven, and ‘I Need To Hear A Country Song’, which was co-written by Rivers Rutherford, were two songs that were originally cut for ‘Bullets In The Gun’ but didn’t make it onto the album.

“Both songs are fantastic, but they were the last two songs that were cut, so I decided to save them for this album.”

When asked if his writing has changed over the last 18 years, Toby answers, “I don’t feel like it’s changed. I got older, more mature, and absorbed a lot more. I’m sure there’s a difference between ‘Clancy’s Tavern’ and my first few albums, but we had a lot of success early on, so I can’t say it is any more successful. I’m addicted to song writing. I write all year long and will write while I’m on tour over here. At the end of the year, I’ll make an album to showcase the songs I wrote. This lets me put my year’s worth of writing on display, and that’s what keeps me motivated.”

Toby Keith is a man with many projects. He started his Wild Shot Mezcal liquor line in April and declared October 21st National Mezcal Day.

“Mezcal is a cousin to tequila, but it’s a little stronger and a lot smoother. This is what the local Mexicans drink. They sell the tequila and save the mezcal for them themselves. It’s not exported much, but ‘Wild Shot’ is in 30 states right now.”

One place where you can definitely find ‘Wild Shot’ is at one of Toby Keith’s ‘I Love This Bar & Grills. His restaurant chain is growing fast, and several more will be opening soon. And, they’re not just opening in the U.S. Said Keith, “We’ve discussed expanding both projects internationally. I’ve got eleven Toby Keith Bar & Grill’s right now, and we want to get to about 40 in the next five years. After that, we’ll try to expand to Europe, and we’ll bring the Mezcal.”

‘Incognito Bandito’ is another one of Toby’s projects. “That’s my side band” says Toby, “The guys I’m playing music with to record my albums are first rate players, but they’re stuck in the studio most of the time. We get together and play some Waylon, Merle or Willy as well as Memphis Blues five to six times a year. Just sing-a-long, roadhouse music that would’ve been on the jukebox back in the 70’s. We don’t have plans with it. We’re just having fun. Just let our wings stretch out and breathe a little fresh air.”

Then there’s the ‘Toby Keith Foundation’, which was founded in 2006, that focuses on the health and happiness of children diagnosed with cancer. When deciding on which cause to support, the choice is clear for Toby. “Back when we started out as a garage band playing local clubs, and before I went to Nashville, I had a guitar player who lost his two-year old daughter to cancer. I’d always donated the money I’d raised to St. Jude Children’s Hospital in Memphis, but when one of my best friends lost his child, it hit me directly and the message was clear. I created my foundation, and we’ve raised several million dollars in the last five years to benefit both the children and their parents.”

Show Dog Universal is Toby Keith’s own record label. “We’ve signed Trace Adkins and Joe Nichols, and I signed several baby acts,” says Toby. Those new acts are artists like JT Hodges and Carter’s Chord who have built up a strong following and are poised for success. “We’ve had a pretty good run,” he says. When asked how much he’s involved with running the label, he answers: “I’m pretty involved, and I’m involved as much as I want to be.”

With so many side projects, one thing is as clear as day. Toby Keith’s main love is song writing. “I don’t really have aspirations to do anything else, other than what I’m doing now; writing my songs and displaying them at the end of the year.”

TheCountrySite.com would like to thank Toby for taking the time to talk with our Marloes Lucy Duizer. He’s a great entertainer and a great song-writer, but more than that, he’s a great guy. We hope you enjoyed Marloes’ interview, and we welcome your comments below. Thanks!

P.S. Click here for an awesome photo gallery of Toby from his show at the Paradiso…

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