Half a hoagie lies on the kitchen counter in the break room of a recording studio. Now that he's back on the charts, Steve Wariner doesn't have the luxury of a lunch hour. I've had three years of just laying low. That's Garth Brooks, country music superstar and one-time Wariner opening act. Not bad for a guy whose last solo hit was in 1994 and whose record company was reluctant to issue another album.
People are ready now to hear someone that's a little more experienced.
But I can. Wariner, a native of Noblesville, Ind., got his start in Nashville as bassist for Dottie West in the 1970s. But he never sold many albums, recording through the years for RCA, MCA and Arista. Once a promotion staff has that history with an artist, it's sometimes hard, regardless of the song, to reinstill that confidence and that enthusiasm and that willingness to charge up the hill. Brooks asked if he was interested in signing with his record label, Capitol, and a deal soon followed.