Say Uncle

PD: How did you cross paths with Kenny Chesney?
UK:Kenny called me when he was ending his last tour back home in Knoxville. He thought it might be fun if I came out on the encore as something special for his fans. And I obliged. So the first time I performed with him was in front of 66,000 people at [Neyland] Stadium.

That's a hell of a first show.
Oh, man. I shit myself.

Is being friends with Kid Rock a blessing and a curse?
We knew it would help me in some ways and kill me in others. I'll always be lumped in with Kid Rock because we're best friends and that's where I got my start. Maybe if I just keep plugging away, they will realize I can stand on my own two feet.

"Drift Away" beat Celine Dion's record for weeks on the adult-contemporary chart. Is it satisfying to kick her skinny ass?
Nah. I don't get any satisfaction from kicking anybody's ass. But I am kind of proud of how well it did. The fucker sat at No. 1 for, like, six months. For a song that I didn't think would work, I can't seem to get away from it.

Celine has a ginormous deal to sing at Caesar's Palace. Would you want to do something like that?
Oh, yeah. That would be awesome to be Wayne Newton and have a house gig in Vegas. Dude, he might be the best entertainer in the world. He's fresh. [Away from the phone] Hey! We're not getting a bunch of sand in here. This isn't Myrtle Beach!

Having fun with the kids?
Yeah, well I just bought the girls some hermit crabs, and they're racing them on the counter and getting sand everywhere.

You take a lot of critical flack. How do you keep a water-off-a-duck's-back attitude?
Duck's back? That means "no big deal"? I guess that pretty much describes me ... I mean ... I'm not a skinny cat, I've been made fun of a lot, so it doesn't really faze me.

The last time you were here, you performed at the duck derby, right?
I remember the duck derby thing. I played on a bridge or something.

I bet that left you with a good impression of the city.
No, I'm a big fan of Kansas City. Go Derrick Thomas, you know? God bless him.