Atlantic City Weekly

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Imposing 6'6'' country music star Trace Adkins has never been shy about expressing his opinions in his deep baritone voice. A regular on Bill Maher's Politically Incorrect and other stops along the talk show circuit, Adkins wrote about his colorful life in his autobiography, A Personal Stand, released this past November. In it he talked about his struggles with alcohol, being shot in the heart and his rage after 9/11.

Adkins, who performs at the Trump Taj Mahal this Saturday, saw his 2005 crossover single, "Honky Tonk Badonkadonk," push his career profile to the upper echelon of country music success. His other hit songs include "I Left Something Turned On at Home," "This Ain't No Thinkin' Thing," "I'm Trying," "Chrome," "Hot Mama," "Songs About Me" "Swing" and "Ladies Love Country Boys."

Currently on tour in support of his Greatest Hits Volume II release, featuring the new single "You're Gonna Miss This," Adkins took a break from his music career to interact with Donald Trump as a participant in NBC's Celebrity Apprentice. The TV show's debut on Jan. 3 earned the highest Apprentice ratings in two years. The series continues tonight (Jan. 26) at 9pm on NBC. In a phone conversation from Los Angeles, Adkins chatted about his life, his music and Mr. Trump.

What made you decide it was time to write a book about your life?
My manager has been after me the last 10 years. Finally, he just turned up the heat and I finally capitulated. 'OK, man, if you'll shut up, I'll write the book.'

Are you glad you did?
I just laid it all out there, if anybody cares. Am I glad I did it? I don't know. That'll be something to ask me six months or a year from now.

In your book, you talk about your problems with alcohol. What advice would you give someone dealing with the same problem?
It's really hard to give that kind of advice. It's such a case-by-case basis. Try to be honest with yourself, to recognize you're denying to yourself -- as well as everyone else -- that you have a problem. When you get past that, it gets a lot easier.

Was there a defining moment when you decided you had to stop?
Not really, no. It was an intervention thing for me. I was thankful there were enough people that cared about me to finally force my hand. I got about three weeks into rehab and I was clearheaded for the first time in a long time. I realized what an opportunity I'd been blessed with and I was screwing it up royally. I thought about my family and what I owed them and I haven't had a drink in over five years now.

Do you feel now that you're comfortable in your success and that you don't have to worry about whether a song is charting?
It doesn't shatter me like it used to. We had a single stiff ["I Got My Game On," which only reached No. 34]. The video went to No. 1, but it just didn't get a shot at radio. Don't ask me why, I don't understand radio anymore. Never did, really.

How did you get approached to do Celebrity Apprentice?
Chuck LaBella used to book talent on Politically Incorrect. He was booking talent for Celebrity Apprentice. He called me and I just said, "No. I'm not interested in doing reality TV. My career's doing great." Then it was broached to me [that] this was an opportunity to raise money for a charity I'm passionate about. The charity that I've devoted myself to is very personal to me and that was the determining factor. [Editor's note: That charity is Food Allergy & Anaphylaxis Network. Adkins' six-year-old daughter had a life-threatening reaction to peanut butter at 18 months.]

What was the experience on Celebrity Apprentice like?
It was an exercise in restraint for me. I was there representing a charity. There were times when I wanted to go off on somebody, but I didn't do it. I didn't play the game that way.

What's Donald Trump really like?
He's like what you see on TV. That's not an act. I thought it was refreshing. I have a completely different perspective on him now. This man is very powerful and he's very busy. He just cuts to the marrow of the issue. He has no time for trivial B.S. I like his style. Let's get to the bottom line and skip all that other crap.

You've always been politically outspoken. Are you planning to support any of the candidates running for president?
If there were some way that we could take those three front-runners on the Republican side and morph them into one guy, we'd have something. If the shape of the economy is what you're passionate about, Mitt's probably your guy. If it's more conservative, social type issues, maybe you're in Huckabee's camp. If you're hawkish, probably McCain is your guy. Everything's just so fragmented. And on the Democratic side, that's very interesting to watch play out, too. I suspect that Senator Clinton might come out on top.

What's up next musically?
We've already got eight songs done for the next album. I'm going into the studio in April to finish it up. I've gotten to the point in my career where I have the luxury to do stuff that interests me and stuff that I think is fun.

What do fans expect from a Trace Adkins album?
I think one of the things they enjoy is that they don't really know what to expect. There's going to be something on there that they go, "Wow. I didn't see that coming."

With all your experiences in life, what's the most important lesson you've learned?
Something I said to one of my daughters [Adkins has five, ranging in age from 22 to 3]. She was down about something and I just said, "This too shall pass." That's kind of the way I've lived my life -- the bad times as well as the good times -- so that you don't take it for granted and that you savor every second of it.