The Wholly Land : BlackHawk’s Henry Paul Left Rock and Found a Healthier Environment in Nashville

Henry Paul breathes a heavy sigh. It’s a murmur of mixed emotions. Grief, frustration and gratitude all play into the world-weary sound he emits like an old soldier recounting battles long passed. For singer-songwriter Paul--leader ofcountry music’s hit-making trio BlackHawk and former member of ‘70s Southern rock group the Outlaws--is a survivor in a game whose rules have claimed too many.

The Southern-rock scene the native Floridian grew up in has a long and mind-numbingly tragic legacy. Duane Allman, Berry Oakley and Lamar Williams of the Allman Brothers Band all died young. The 1977 plane crash that took the lives of Lynyrd Skynyrd’s key members is the stuff of rock legend. Tommy and Toy Caldwell of the Marshall Tucker Band died in recent years. As for the Outlaws, guitarist Billy Jones committed suicide just two months ago, and bassist Frank O’Keefe died of a drug overdose a couple years back.

“These guys just don’t get it,” Paul said in a recent phone interview from a motel room during a tour stop in Tucson. “There’s still no shortage of excess out there. In rock ‘n’ roll, the traps are so built into the lifestyle.”

Paul has been blessed, and he knows it. Now 45 and healthy, Paul is enjoying a fruitful second go-round in music with BlackHawk, which performs tonight at the Galaxy Concert Theatre in Santa Ana.

He has escaped the too-frequently self-destructive world of rock and jumped into what he sees as a much more wholesome environment in country music.

“Rather than continue to ride that poor, old, tired horse, I decided to get off, take off the bridle and saddle, give it a good slap on the (rump) and go to Nashville,” he said.

“In country, you don’t have all of that (extreme behavior)--it’s missing in the audience, it’s missing in the music, and the music speaks so much better for it,” he said. “We go out there and we have to be on . . . .

“We sing three-part harmony, we sing in tune, we play hard, we’re faithful to our arrangements and then we go out and meet fans and radio people after the show. It’s much healthier--socially, emotionally, the whole landscape. It’s what I could’ve and should’ve been doing all along. In my case, I had a second chance to try it again and do it right.”

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BlackHawk--which also features the singing-songwriting talents of Dave Robbins and Van Stephenson--was one of country music’s biggest stories of 1994. The group’s debut album yielded four hit singles in “Goodbye Says It All,” “Every Once in a While,” “Sure Can Smell the Rain” and “Down in Flames,” and was recently certified platinum for sales of 1 million units. With its fifth single, “That’s Just About Right,” currently climbing the country charts, the album remains a hot item well over a year after its release.

Though it’s unusual for a group with a veteran, middle-aged front man to enjoy the level of success that BlackHawk has in the wildly age-discriminatory world of contemporary country music, Paul contended that his age hasn’t held the group back because he hasn’t allowed it to.

“I have a whole lot of energy, I have very little body fat, I have a full head of hair and I still love to sing, write and perform,” he said. “For all the reasons a young person will be in the game, I still qualify.”

BlackHawk’s debut album was hallmarked by crystalline vocal harmonies, instantly memorable songwriting hooks and traditional, folk-based instrumentation. Paul said that BlackHawk’s fans should be looking for something a bit different in the group’s second album, scheduled for release after this year.

“The new album’s not as folky or acoustic as the first one,” he said. “I think being on the road the last year and kind of jamming this deal live and discovering who we are musically has prompted a more aggressive record.”

On the tails of BlackHawk’s initial success, Paul is hoping to avoid the notorious sophomore jinx.

“I have to say that the thought has certainly crossed our mind more than once,” he said. “We’re sensitive to it, but we don’t want to dwell on it. We made a good record, and we’re happy with it, so if it comes out successful, then great, if not, hey. . . . It’s not that we’re indifferent to success, but we know that the powers-that-be are out of our hands.”

Once more, Paul paused to reflect on his good fortune and what might have been had he not been dealt a different hand. “I really feel bad about (Jones and O’Keefe),” he said, with a sigh. “I wish we could all be happy, but it’s tough. I’m just enjoying what I have.”

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BlackHawk and the Kelly Rae Band perform tonight at the Galaxy Concert Theatre, 3503 S. Harbor Blvd., Santa Ana. 8 p.m. $19.50. (714) 957-0600.

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