As we previously mentioned, Eric Church made a surprise appearance during one of the last stops on Keith Urban’s Get Closer 2011 World Tour in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. The two performed “Springsteen” from Eric’s latest album, Chief. While Eric surprised the crowd, he was surprised as well backstage with a plaque presented by Keith commemorating the gold status of his album, Chief. “ I’m a big fan of Keith and a big fan of what he does and the kind of artist he is and the records that he makes,” says Eric. “So, there’s nobody I would’ve rather gotten that record from anywhere than Keith Urban. It meant a lot, and I told him that. I said, ‘It’s real special and it always will be that I got this album’s particular gold certification from you.’ And then to have that done and get that thing in what, 9 or 10 weeks is unbelievable, you know? Unbelievable. It’s been a crazy, crazy few months.”
AUDIO: Eric Church recalls how he and Keith Urban got together in Milwaukee, Wisconsin to perform together, as well as the surprise that awaited him backstage.
Eric Church (perf with Keith) OC: …surprising me. 1:20
“Keith had called me about [it]. He’d been soundchecking with the Chief record some, which I think is a great honor and blew me away when I heard he was doing that and said he loved the record a lot. He said, ‘Man, when you have an off day or you’re not touring and it corresponds in the right way with our tour, I’d love , instead of me out here doing these all the time, I’d love for you to come out and do a song with me off the record.’ I was blown away, and I said, ‘I’d love to.’ So, we found one day that we were both open, I was open and it was in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, and I went up there, and he said, ‘Man, let’s do ‘Springsteen.’’ And we walked out, we soundchecked and we did ‘Springsteen.’ His band’s incredible. I was very humbled with how well they knew it, and not only that, but they knew other songs on the record. Had a great soundcheck, and he said, ‘Man, we’ll do it tonight. Look forward to it.’ I went back to the bus, got a shower, got ready for the show. And I got a call, and they said – I got to hang out with Keith a little bit – but they said, ‘Hey, at six o’clock on the dot, you’ve got to be show ready’ – which is two hours before show time – ‘you’ve got to be show ready. We’ve got to do a trade shot. You have to be there, on time’…which I’m never on time. So, I said, ‘Okay.’ So, I got ready, and kind of trying to figure out why we’re doing a trade shot. It’s supposed to be a surprise. And we get to the trade shot and all these cameras are there, and Keith walks in. I’m just gonna do the picture and we’re done, and he starts telling me how much he loves the record, and he said, ‘You know how much a fan I am.’ He said, ‘It’s only fitting for me to give you this,’ and he reaches behind the curtain and he pulls out the gold record, and I was stunned. I had a few choice words for all of ‘em for surprising me.”
AUDIO: Eric Church explains how humbled and blown away he was when Keith Urban presented him a gold plaque for his Chief album.
Eric Church (Chief gold) OC: …few months. :23
“I was just blown away. I’m a big fan of Keith and a big fan of what he does and the kind of artist he is and the records that he makes. So, there’s nobody I would’ve rather gotten that record from anywhere than Keith Urban. It meant a lot, and I told him that. I said, ‘It’s real special and it always will be that I got this album’s particular gold certification from you.’ And then to have that done and get that thing in what, 9 or 10 weeks is unbelievable, you know? Unbelievable. It’s been a crazy, crazy few months.”
