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	She's Going Home With Me  Written By: Travis Tritt  Performed By: Travis Tritt
	Foolish Pride  Written By: Travis Tritt  Performed By: Travis Tritt
	Help Me Hold On  Written By: Steve Earle  Performed By: Travis Tritt
	T-R-O-U-B-L-E  Written By: Jerry Chestnut  Performed By: Travis Tritt

With the 1995 release of his Greatest Hits - From The Beginning, Travis Tritt placed an emphatic exclamation mark on the end of an incredible story of musical success. Tritt realized, however, that the collection is more than an end to an era--it is also a beginning. Fresh starts are hard to come by in the music business, but Travis Tritt has orchestrated just that for the release of his first new studio album in two years titled The Restless Kind

The Marietta, Georgia native was signed to Warner Bros. Records when an Atlanta promotion man's strong recommendations led executives to see the young singer/songwriter perform. Their investment paid dividends immediately as Tritt's first single, "Country Club" (which still ranks among his top-selling singles) went Top 10 on the charts in 1989. The album Country Club came out in 1990 and songs like "Put Some Drive In Your Country" earned Tritt a reputation as a country singer with one foot in rock. His next three albums, It's All About To Change(l991), T-R-O-U-B-L-E (1992), and Ten Feet Tall and Bulletoroof(1994) brought forth trademark hits like "Here's A Quarter (Call Someone Who Care)," "The Whiskey Ain't Workin'," and "T-R-O-U-B-L- E." Tritt also revealed a tender side to his rowdy exterior with heart wrenching ballads like "Anymore", "Can I Trust You With My Heart", and "Foolish Pride".

As he was becoming one of country music's most recognizable voices, Tritt was also becoming one of the genre's most visible entertainers. He won the Country Music Association's Horizon Award in 1991 and won a Grammy in 1993 for his work with Marty Stuart. That partnership led to several chart-topping hits as well as the acclaimed "No Hats" tour in 1992. A part in the 1993 made-for-TV movie Rio Diabfo led to feature film work in The Cowboy Way and Sgt. Bilko. Tritt also had a role in HBO's Tales From The Crypt, performed in the Atlanta area for a Disney concert special titled Coming Home and provided half-time entertainment for half-a-billion people at 1993's Super Bowl. The Rhythm, Country & Blues album, produced by Don Was, found Tritt singing with Patti LaBelle and he reunited the Eagles on the video shoot for "Take It Easy" from the Common Thread: The Songs Of The Eagles album. Tritt released a holiday album in 1992, A Travis Tritt Christmas: Loving Time Of Year, and his autobiography, Ten Feet Tall And Bulletproof, was released in conjunction with the album of the same name.

During Fan Fair '96 in Nashville, Warner Bros. Records presented Tritt with a plaque commemorating his "first 14 million in album sales." While many artists would consider that a career unto itself, the phrasing of that statement alludes to the expectations for this new album and for Tritt as an artist. So in embarking on a new stage in his career, Tritt has parted ways with long-time producer Gregg Brown, shared production duties with the legendary Was and took a different musical tack with The Restless Kind. He spoke recently about the album, producing, Was and country music:

Q: The greatest hits album is a tribute to the success you've had over the past several years. Looking back, what are your impressions?

A: I've always said that I never saw myself as being the fastest train on the track, but I've always been consistent. I've seen a lot of people in this business come and go in seven years and, as competitive as it has gotten, it's a great thrill to still be able to sell records and still be able to draw people to concerts. That's something that I'm very proud of; I think it's been a successful chapter. There comes a time, though, when it's nice to try new things and that's one of the reasons I'm so excited about the new album.

Q: You said when Greatest Hits came out that it would give you extra time to put into your next album--more time to write and find songs. Did it work out that way?

A: Greatest hits albums a lot of times end up being sort of a saving grace for singer/songwriters. They say you have your whole life to put together your first album and then from that point on, every album you do you basically have just a few months to get the whole thing together and release it. Greatest Hits gave me an extra 12 months to concentrate on writing new songs, coming up with new material and really thinking about how I wanted this album to sound from a production standpoint. The more time you have for those things the better the album is going to be for it. I think that's definitely the case in this particular instance.

Q: The Rhythm, Country and Blues album gave you the chance to work with Don Was. What was it about that session that made you want to work with Don again and what did he bring to the table for The Restless Kind?

A: Don has always been one of my favorite people to work with as far as producers because he has always been extremely open minded. He has a very strong idea of what he wants on records, but he's also very open to the artists. A lot of times, especially in Nashville, that's something that is very tough to find. Most of the producers I've dealt with on other projects tended to be somewhat heavy-handed. And me, being the ultimate control freak that I've always been, I pretty much knew what I wanted. To find somebody who's open enough to give me the room to truly be a co-producer, not just in name, but actually be involved in every aspect of the recording was a challenge. I knew from working with Don that he was that kind of person. I know on the Rhythm, Country & Blues album there were several suggestions I made during the day about the song I did with Patti LaBelle. Don took every one of my suggestions and used them. It really made me feel good as an entertainer--made me feel my contribution was valid. He did the same thing on this particular project. If it ever came down to a situation where he and I disagreed on something--and I don't think that really happened--he always would yield to the artist because he feels as though the artist--"it's your music". You write it. You play it. You perform it. You know it better than anyone else and who am I to try and change the way you view your music." That's one of the things I respect so much about Don.

Q: There's this perception that you're as much rock 'n' roll as you are country. But starting with Ten Feet Tall and continuing with The Restless Kind you're exploring some more traditional ground and proving you know as much or more about country music's roots as many of the so-called traditionalists.

A: Ken Kragen (Tritt's co-manager) calls me a walking encyclopedia of the history of country music. He says it in jest, but I've always been a fan of that stuff. Everybody over the years focused on the Lynyrd Skynyrd, Allman Brothers and Marshall Tucker influences because I was one of the first people to say that these are my influences. I think because it was so different at the time a lot of people keyed on that and they focused on it and maybe they forgot that I'm a country music singer. Now I enjoy blues and I enjoy rock 'n' roll, but I've always considered myself to be a country music artist first. Country music and country radio is what gave me the opportunity to get my music out there. I want to bring people back and let them know that I'm notjust this rock 'n' roll, country-rock, Southern rock guy. I grew up listening to people like Porter Wagoner, Dolly Parton, George Jones and Buck Owens. Those were the only records in my house when I was a kid--that's all my dad would listen to. I think, sometimes, to bring people back to a certain thing, especially after you've developed an image over a period of time, you almost have to smack them over the head with a two-by-four. That's basically what this album is trying to do. I'm taking a real, real hard left turn. The other things I enjoy too, but don't ever forget the fact that I'm a country singer.

Q: This is the first time you've done an album without Gregg Brown and it's also you're first time in the producer's chair. How was it different?

A: I loved working with Gregg Brown on all the albums we've done in the past. You can't deny success and we had a tremendous run. There is a very good possibility that Gregg Brown and I will work together again. This is not a situation where Gregg and I are angry with each other so we won't work together. It's simply a situation where I've only known one way of making records since I came to town and I wanted to do something different. This time around I was encouraged to be involved actively, not only in the production but also in the musicianship, in the playing. Don Was insisted that I play on practically every track. I asked him why because I've never considered myself to be a super guitar player. He said, "You've got a feel for the music, you've got a feel for the rhythm and you put it in the pocket. You don't play conventionally, but it's part of you." I'd never been asked nor have I ever been encouraged to be as involved in the process of making my music as I was on this album. Every producer has to start somewhere and somebody has to open the door up and say, "Let's see what you can do". Don gave me that opportunity.

Q: The album kicks off with "The Restless Kind" which speaks to that part in a person that wants to get away and separate themselves from what the world expects. Then the songs seem to turn towards the ups and downs of life and love before you get to the last song, "Where Corn Don't Grow," which seems to say that life is about more than running away it's also about coming home.

A: The whole album talks about growing up. Every young guy I've ever known in my life, practically, wanted to get away. And a lot of them end up going out and sowing their wild oats and they end up coming back to the very thing they tried to get away from. I think that this album is probably a very good representation of that journey.

Q: You are currently on tour with Marty Stuart for the second time. The tour's called "Double Trouble" and there is a song by the same name on The Restless Kind. If you could bottle and sell the fun the two of you have together you'd make Bill Gates look like he's running a lemonade stand. Why is that connection so strong?

A: Because we legitimately love each other as people. We have a really special relationship as friends that doesn't come along too often. I'm Marty Stuart's No. 1 fan both as an artist and as a person. We really do have fun together and I think that comes across when we play. There's no act. Marty is a riot. He just absolutely cracks me up. I think the guy is one of the funniest people I've ever been around in my life and he, I think, thinks I'm the same thing. That magic is what makes Marty and Travis. It's a situation where one and one equals three. He has his own gig, I have my own gig, but when we get together it's a special event.

Q: Your love of country music has led you to speak out against some of the problems you've seen and you've said a lot of things publicly that many say in private. But there is some diversity in country music and some artists do find the room to grow and develop. What does Nashville do right?

A: In the last year or so, quite a few artists are coming out that are being encouraged to be different. There was a time not too long ago when those same people might have criticized those artists. For those kinds of artists to come back and be allowed to have a shot, I think is good. That's the kind of creativity we need in Nashville. The Nashville community has done an awful lot for my career personally. It is easy finding fault, especially when the glaring problems jump out at you. I think the Nashville community is starting to realize that the cookie-cutter mentality is, in the end, not productive. It may produce a tremendous amount of revenue for a certain period of time, but it has no longevity.

Q: For someone who once had a tour called "No Hats" you sure do wear a lot of them.

A: This album is like my child. 1 have put more of myself into this album than anything I've ever done. I co-produced it. I played guitar on practically every track. I sang my own harmony vocals on practically every track. I was there every single time the machines were turned on, from the day we first started tracking to the last days of mixing and mastering. If you're closing one chapter of your career--a lot of people are standing around with their arms folded saying, "Okay, whatcha gonna do now?" So this album, I hope, will prove that the last seven years were no fluke, no delusion of grandeur. I'm a country music artist, a singer, songwriter, musician, producer and performer. And I'm very proud of that.