Amy Grant opens up on music, golf and faith

When people think of the U.S. Senior Open, plaid pants and sweater vests come to mind. But then there's country musician Vince Gill and his wife, vocalist Amy Grant, who are rolling into town to put the "country" in "country club" with a two-day charity golf event.

Monday, Grant and Gill offer dinner and a concert at The Broadmoor. Tuesday, PGA Pro Fred Funk joins them for a day on the links. Proceeds from Monday's event benefit Challenge Aspen, a nonprofit that organizes sports competitions and recreational activities for people with cognitive and physical disabilities.

"To me, the fun is getting to be there with Vince," Grant said during a recent phone interview. "We don't get to perform together very often."

For the special occasion, the couple have an evening planned that will invoke the feeling of "sitting around in the living room," Grant said.

"Some shows you go to feel like they're on autopilot," Grant said. "This will be the exact opposite; it'll be more improvisational. We'll figure out a couple of songs to start with and then banter with the crowd, see what they want to hear. We'll make music, and it'll be relaxed."

Grant already sounds relaxed. She chats about music, faith, golf and what her own living room's really like.

Question: Are you a golf fan?

Answer: I enjoy golf. I haven't been playing in the last few years, but I used to sing at a lot of tournaments. If you sing, they let you enter. And I was obsessed. Not that I'm very good, but you meet a lot of good golfers. Vince, my husband, is a great scratch golfer.

Q: Tell me about the new record, "Lead Me On," you just released.

A: Well, actually, it's old. I rereleased a record from 20 years ago in preparation for a new album that's coming out this spring.

Q: Did you change anything?

A: It was remastered, and there are unplugged versions of three of the songs. Actually the most fun thing is that when we toured that record 20 years ago, we recorded a bunch of the live shows and never even listened to the tapes. When we decided to do the rerelease, I started going through the old stuff. It was like a woman who's tired of everything in her closet, and then a friend comes over and is like, "I love these pants! I had a pair just like them in the '70s. You can't give these away!"

The record company said, "before you put out anything new, we want to look through everything you've done." From the response we've gotten so far, I called up my old band and we decided to do a tour. All but a few are coming out. We'll do a 20-city tour.

Q: So what's happening with the new album?

A: It's all new songs, which won't mean anything to anybody until they hear them. I've written most of the stuff, but I haven't recorded a note yet. I'm thinking it's going to be a less highly produced sound, more reminiscent of old, old hymns and church songs - sparse, simple, acoustic.

I want it to be the same musical roots as "Lead Me On." Listening to that old album again really inspired me.

Q: You've been doing this for so long, making records, touring. How do you keep it fresh for yourself ?

A: Music is always new. I don't really sit around listening to my old songs. I hear them enough when I play them in concert. This past summer, I flew with my family to Bonnaroo (in Tennessee). It was nonstop music, except for a few hours around dawn. It made me feel so inspired. I believe my best songwriting is still ahead. There are endless possibilities.

Q: Do you and your husband talk a lot about music?

A: Probably less than you would think. When you have a life together, there are so many other things. We don't sit around writing songs or anything. It is nice, when you're working on something to play it for someone you really respect and trust. Vince does more songwriting at home. I'm always distracted by whatever's at hand. Like, "Oh! People are coming over to play cards? The living room's a mess!"

Q: Could you talk a little about the link between your art and your faith?

A: I think the resurgence is because it's a natural longing for people to want to find something that really fills the void. Especially in America, there are so many extremes. You get your absolute fill of scratching everything that itches, but feel that there must be more. Anything spiritual, whether books, music, whatever, is a great way to talk about that. Music makes you feel good. It makes you vulnerable and open to good and bad things. I've written some songs that are really mindless pop fluff, and no one writes me letters about them. With my other songs, though, someone will say it helped them when their mom was sick. Or someone will come up to me in a gas station and tell me my church songs helped them through a bad breakup. It might not be the most posh, chic, hip kind of music. But that's all right.

details
5TH ANNUAL VINCE GILL & AMY GRANT GOLF CLASSIC

When: 7:45 p.m. Monday (concert) and Tuesday (golf)
Where: The Broadmoor, 1 Lake Ave.
Cost: $100 for the concert only; various dinner, golf and accommodation packages available.