Aaron Pritchett: Thankful to Be Living His Dream

Four years ago, country-music singer Aaron Pritchett made a decision to quit the music scene. Although he had a few singles on the air, things just weren't going well for the Vancouver BC singer-songwriter. "I wasn't making any money," recalls Pritchett. "I wasn't doing a lot of shows either. In October of 2003, I said, "I can't afford to put shoes on my kids. I have to get a job." He was going to have to let go of his dream so he could simply make a living.

But on January 2nd 2004 everything changed for Pritchett when a song from his second album became a hit. "New Frontier went to number one and basically changed everything for me," explains Pritchett. "With that one song doing what it did, everybody and their dog wanted to see us play, and people were automatically buying albums because of that. That just changed my whole life, and here I am almost five years later, and I'm doing alright. Things are going better than they've ever gone."

Canadian country music fans sure are glad that Pritchett stayed on the scene, and it's apparent through his songs that he loves what he does as well. Whether it's the heartfelt melodies in Done You Wrong, or the loud, feel-good lyrics of one of his latest singles, Let's Get Rowdy, listeners can feel the passion and love that Pritchett puts into his music.

Pritchett has spent the past spring and summer touring around the country, playing numerous festivals and shows to promote his fourth album, Thankful, to be released this fall. He emphasizes that promoting his new album isn't the only goal of his tour though. "We just love to get out there and play for as many people as possible. The purpose of doing what I do is to entertain," enthuses Pritchett. "We try to make the crowd have as much fun as we do up on stage."

Pritchett admits that Thankful is definitely a departure from his previous albums. "There are about eight or nine songs that sound great with the album, but they're not my usual sounding kind of songs. They're definitely something that has a wider audience appeal. We wrote it with that in mind. I want to write a song that sort of has a Daughtry feel for example, a Theory of a Deadman feel, but with country. It's definitely a country song. And I think we nailed what we planned to achieve with this album."

Pritchett has come a long way from worrying about putting shoes on his kids. A modern-rock influenced country album? This musician dreams big, and has scores of talent to support those dreams.