Boston Common - Niche Media - A side of Boston that's anything but common.
Issue link: http://www.ifoldsflip.com/i/136432
political views, or your background, the one thing that's most universal in our lives is the power and love of music. And music can help people heal. When I saw this happen, I thought of a song on the new record called "Spread the Love," which seemed like the right message to send to people in Boston, especially those whose lives were changed in an instant, through no fault of their own. I'm excited that Boston radio stations and the Boston Medical Center have partnered with us. We're also selling T-shirts to raise money for the fund. It's one of the things that I'm most proud of in my whole music career. I know you met some of the Chesney says his first responders, too, so I'm end-of-tour sure they'll be there at your concerts at Gillette Stadium show come August. You end are "like a revival." your tour every year at Gillette Stadium. Those concerts are legendary now. What's that final weekend like? It's almost like a revival. It's so full of love, and it's a blast for us. And as a big football fan, the place must resonate with you. Two years ago, before our first show I went to speak to the Boston College football team because the athletic director loved the film Boys of Fall that I made. So I spoke to the Boston College football team, then got back on the bus. Two hours later, Coach Belichick handed me a helmet. I put on the helmet, got out there and practiced with the New England Patriots for about 20 minutes, and then later on I had to go to work! That was a great day in New England. Oh gosh. Surreal! It was so surreal—the next thing you know I am in the huddle with Tom Brady, Wes Welker, and Deion Branch. And I'm going out there, thinking, This is 88 unbelievable. Did you catch a pass from Tom? I caught a few passes and I dropped quite a few. We had fun with it. I've become friends with them, and bonded with Bill Belichick because he loves music. There is this bond with all the athletes; a lot of the Red Sox guys, too. They love music and I love sports! There's this little envy, on both sides. I would give anything to know what it's like to play second base for the Boston Red Sox. I would love to be Dustin Pedroia. I'd also love to catch a pass. But I can't do those things. I'm curious, what did you tell the Boston College football team? Here's what I told them: Any time you get a bunch of people together like you guys, coaches, players, and trainers, and you try do something special, everybody has to be on the same page. It's no different than what I'm doing out here on the road. I've got 120 people out there as a part of my team, going city to city. If you're not on the same page, the ball gets dropped somewhere and you can't achieve the special things you want to. You hadn't planned to release a new album until 2014, but Life on a Rock debuted this year at number 1 on the Billboard 200. You've said this album is really personal. I'm just wondering, why this album at this time? You get to a place in your career when you can either keep writing the same music over and over, or you can dig a little deeper. Maybe riff a little more, share a piece of yourself you normally wouldn't show the world. I lost a very good friend of mine, Kristi, a couple of PHOTOGRAPHY BY TURE LILLEGRAVEN "[BOSTON IS] A VERY PASSIONATE TOWN, WHETHER IT'S SPORTS, MUSIC, OR FOOD. WE INVESTED IN EACH OTHER, AND OVER TIME WE'VE BUILT THIS WONDERFUL THING." BOSTONCOMMON-MAGAZINE.COM 086-089_BC_F_CoverStory_SUM13.indd 88 6/7/13 4:13 PM