http://www.boston.com/ae/music/articles/20...or_his_country/

He's not afraid to speak out for his country
Hawk? Toby Keith says he's just a straight-shooter

By Steve Morse, Globe Staff | July 23, 2004

Short-tempered country star Toby Keith doesn't back down from anything. He has feuded with the Dixie Chicks, quarreled with ABC anchorman Peter Jennings, stood up for rednecks, bashed the Taliban, and furthered his hawk credentials by taking a swipe at terrorists in the radio hit, "Courtesy of the Red, White and Blue (The Angry American)." Sample verse: "This big dog will fight when you rattle his cage/ And you'll be sorry that you messed with the U.S. of A."

But Keith has a confession to make.

"People don't realize that I'm a registered Democrat," he says. "They automatically assume that I'm a chest-banging, war-drum-pounding Republican with my military stance."

Keith goes on to compare himself to Senator Joseph Lieberman of Connecticut: "a conservative Democrat who is sometimes embarrassed for his party."

Party affiliation aside, Keith, who headlines "The Big Throwdown Tour" at Gillette Stadium tomorrow with Montgomery Gentry, Gretchen Wilson, Jo Dee Messina, and Scott Emerick, won't be hanging around for the Democratic National Convention. He's flying out right after the Foxborough show.

In recent years, Keith has become Nashville's most controversial personality. "I just don't take [expletive]," says Keith, an Oklahoma native who worked in oil fields and was a semipro football player before switching to music. "I'll rear up on you and say what I feel. Of course, the press loves that stuff and it's easy to get me going."

His cantankerousness has only stoked his fan base. Tomorrow's show -- the kickoff of Keith's summer tour -- is expected to draw nearly 40,000 fans and could challenge George Strait's New England country music record of 41,000 at a Foxborough show a few years ago. (Incidentally, that show also featured the Dixie Chicks, who last year drew Keith's ire for criticizing President Bush on the eve of the Iraq war.)

Keith has notched 19 No. 1 country hits -- most of which he wrote himself from a classic honky-tonk, not militaristic, perspective. They include the recent "Whiskey Girl" and "Beer for My Horses" (with Willie Nelson). Keith also recently winning four trophies at the Academy of Country Music Awards, among them entertainer of the year, male vocalist, and best album for "Shock'N Y'All," which, according to Billboard, has sold more than 3 million copies since its release last November.

"Toby is in a position where he can do no wrong. He has that working-man appeal -- and he appeals to all levels of listeners," says Mike Brophey, program director for Boston country station WKLB-FM (99.5). "I suppose if you really dug into his music, you'd see that he leans toward a more conservative appeal, but I don't see liberal folks calling up to complain, either. It's just entertaining music."