By Michael Swanger michael@dmcityview.com

It seems like yesterday Jack Ingram and the Beat-Up Ford Band were hauling ass across the country playing an endless string of honky-tonks with little fanfare for gas money and some insight into the meaning of it all. Maybe that's because those days aren't far removed for the Texan, who, like his hero, Waylon Jennings, maintains an unwavering commitment to his artistic integrity even though he is finally getting some mainstream success.

"Back in the day we used to put pins on the map of the places we played, then I said 'Why am I doing this? I'm going to see it all," he says.

With a nose-to-the-grindstone work ethic that has enabled him for years to play more than 200 shows annually, it's likely Ingram eventually would have seen it all, too. But the ride is a little less bumpy and a lot quicker for this country music outlaw thanks to some savvy business moves, a faithful grassroots following and a single that has shot near the top of the country music charts.

Since signing to Nashville's new Big Machine label, a company that is the brainchild of industry veteran Scott Borchetta and country music superstar Toby Keith, Ingram has become the unlikely darling of Music Row. His debut album for Big Machine, "Live - Wherever You Are," spawned the No. 5 hit "Wherever You Are," and its rotation on commercial country radio and Country Music Television has helped introduce his music to fans who think Big and Rich is the last word on country rebellion. For an artist who has struggled while making music his own way, Ingram says it's a match made in heaven where art meets commerce.

"It's something an artist like myself dreams of, an independent-minded label that can manage their company alongside the majors," he says. "It's a label that understands my independent streak, has an independent streak of their own, but wants to play the game at the highest level and that's difficult to do."

Ingram was able to make the quantum leap with the help of the unlikeliest of suspects. When he joined Keith as part of the popular CMT special "Outlaws 2005" that included Merle Haggard and Billy Joe Shaver, it gave Ingram instant credibility in the eyes of millions of viewers.

"Toby's been extremely supportive of me and the label," the 35-year-old singer-songwriter-guitarist says. "Above and beyond what he should have done."

Though the mere mention of Keith and CMT might scare some traditionalists away, longtime fans need not worry that Ingram has sold his soul for fame and fortune.

"I don't feel like I have such a huge battle to fight," he says. "I feel like I can operate within the framework of a Music Row-like atmosphere and trust my talent and trust my integrity that the music I make will be true to me. That took me a while to figure out."

It took Nashville even longer - or least until they learned they could make some money - to realize there's a resurging outlaw movement afoot. With the success of grittier pop singers like Dierks Bentley, Gary Allan and Keith Urban and the rise of second-generation outlaw Shooter Jennings, Ingram says the timing for success for artists like him is right.

"Listen to the radio and you can hear it," he says. "Before, when people would say they grew up on Haggard and [George] Jones their records sounded like some offshoot of Air Supply. It's a grittier country format these days because those of us who grew up during the country outlaw movement of the '70s are now coming of age and trying to make a living on Music Row."

When Ingram isn't turning fans onto the outlaw movement through his music, he plays the role of tastemaker in other capacities. For three years he's hosted his annual "Real American Music Festival" outside San Antonio, Texas, with guests like LeeAnn Womack, Cross Canadian Ragweed and Ray Wylie Hubbard. He also has his own weekly radio show, "Jack's Tracks," on XM satellite radio where he plays everyone from Al Green to Tim McGraw to Todd Snider.

Ingram says he enjoys turning people on to new artists, though he doesn't consider himself a torchbearer for any one particular genre of music.

"I try to make people see how that all fits together," he says. "The best I can hope for is that it helps people figure out their own world because that's what music does for me." CV

Sample Clips

How Many Days

Wherever You Are

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