from My West Texas on mywesttexas.com

When Abilene-based Texas country artist Aaron Watson gives advice to the newer guys in the business, he always likes to use baseball analogies to get his point across.

If you want to hit a homerun with the fans, said Watson, make sure you take the time to have all your bases covered. In other words, don't just give them a good show; show them that you're a good guy as well.

"I always tell these younger artists... you know you ask one of those hotshot players for an autograph and he kind of blows you off, and even though he's a stud on the team, he's kinda' hard to like after that," said Watson, who will be performing at 10:30 p.m. today at Graham Central Station. "It's the average baseball players who take time for the autographs and spend time with the kids, and they are always easier to like."

And even though this unassuming singer hits a homer with about every single he sets out to release, he still just sees himself as an average guy with an above average fan base. The keys to his success, said Watson, are his belief in God and a firm respect for the fans who come out every night to watch him play.

"We really work hard at what we do," said Watson and then laughed. "We work really hard at being average."

The Honky Tonk Kid also has been working hard at promoting his latest release, "Road and the Rodeo," which is his 10th album and the fifth produced by Ray Benson, frontman for Western swing band Asleep at the Wheel. So far the album has produced two hit singles for Watson including "The Road," which hit No. 1 on the Texas Music chart, and "Walls," which also hit No. 1.

Watson also just released his third single "Best for Last," which is taking long strides at becoming his third No. 1 off of the album. It's also a big hit for Watson at home as it was written for his wife and his new baby girl. Well, also for just about every girl out there as well.

"But really it's also just a total chick song, and I've just sold out completely," Watson said and laughed. "It's a song that just puts women on a pedestal. They can call me a sellout but hey, you know at my shows its 80 percent women, and that's a lot cooler than singing to dudes. You know it'd be kinda' awkward just singing it to dudes. If that were the case, I'd probably get out there and be like, 'Hey guys, there's a tornado warning and the show's been canceled.'"

The idea for the song came to Watson while he was at church. The Bible lesson for that particular Sunday was about creation and how God had made so many wonderful things, but had saved his best for last. God's final gift to all the cowboys out there was to have a cowgirl to dance with and nothing could've been sweeter than that.

As far as future plans, Watson said he is working on a new CD, which should be released early next year.

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