It was a close call yesterday (Sept. 20) for Staind frontman Aaron Lewis when the jet he was in didn't take off properly, causing him to miss a show in Oklahoma.
The Republican in Massachusetts reports that the singer was on board a Cessna Citation V that veered off a runway in Texas, coming to a stop thanks to some mud. No word on what caused the accident, but the jet was disabled and Lewis missed a solo gig in Tulsa where he was going to be opening for Brantley Gilbert on the "Let It Ride" tour. "I'm so glad that we are safe; however, I am really sorry that the fans in Tulsa were disappointed and let down with me not making tonight's show," Lewis said in a statement. "I promise I'll be back to Tulsa soon."
Lewis, who has only been playing a handful of shows with Staind as of late, was in Texas to shoot an episode of his reality hunting show On The Road for the Sportsman's Channel. He and his team were tracking teal duck.
The singer made the move to the country genre in 2011 with his Town Line EP, which featured the fan favorite "Country Boy." His last album, The Road, came out a year later and peaked at no. 30 on the charts, according to Billboard. Lewis talked about his departure from rock shortly after The Road was released. "Well the solo thing I've been doing for about 10 years now, just me and an acoustic guitar," he told Taste of Country. "I guess it was when I sat down and in my mind, I was like, 'I'm going to write a country song.' Then I wrote 'Country Boy.' Then I started playing it out live. It wasn't recorded; I just figured I would play it out live and see how people reacted. The reaction was so big that it kind of made the decision for me. The song has 15 million views on YouTube, it was nominated for three CMT Awards, two ACM Awards, the CD it was on debuted at No. 1 on the country charts...I think that writing that song was kind of telling me something. I think that I've done alright so far in my adventure."
Staind went on hiatus in 2012 so Lewis could pursue his solo career, but it played a few festival gigs in the spring. The band hasn't mentioned anything about a new record.
