RIDGEFIELD - If you couldn't guess it from his hit country songs and videos, Phil Vassar really, really loves summertime. But during a recent interview with The Newtown Bee ahead of a February 12 concert at the Ridgefield Playhouse, Vassar called in quite content while watching his two children frolicking through a layer of icy snow that had just blanketed his Nashville, Tennessee neighborhood.

"Yeah, I think we only have one or two snowplows in Nashville, so it's a snow day and we're taking full advantage of it," Vassar said as his girls squealed in the background. "It's not enough to ride a sled, but we're having fun with it."

It seems like Vassar's mission is to bring a whole lot of fun to fans and friends wherever he goes. That footloose attitude is conveyed in a number of his most popular songs, whether they were penned for himself or for the reigning royalty of country music.

According to his bio at CMT.com, Vassar was racking up hits on the radio long before he even began his own recording career. "Little Red Rodeo" (recorded by Collin Raye), "My Next Thirty Years" and "For A Little While" (both sung by Tim McGraw), "She's Right On The Money" (Alan Jackson), and "I'm Alright" (Jo Dee Messina) are just a few of his songs that other artists have recorded and taken to the top of the charts.

Stepping into the solo spotlight, Vassar hooked a generation of country fans with no less than 10 No. 1 singles and 26 Top 40 hits, including "Carlene," "Just Another Day in Paradise," "Six-Pack Summer" and "That's When I Love You."

With six albums, two ASCAP Songwriter of the Year trophies, and recognition as an Academy of Country Music Top New Male Vocalist topping his resume, Vassar continues to play sold-out shows across the country. He and his band will be wheeling in for a pre-Valentine's Day show at the Ridgefield Playhouse February 12, and offering a select number of admirers a meet and greet opportunity while spots last.

During Vassar's chat with The Bee, he talked about his upcoming tour, his star-studded effort to help promote reading and literacy, a new video series pairing fine wine and music, and some insight into his song writing process.

Newtown Bee: Given how famous you were as a high school athlete, I guess you could have ended up being one of those "Glory Days" guys sitting around talking about the old days, as the Bruce Springsteen goes. Except one day, I guess you found yourself a piano.

Phil Vassar: (laughing) You should write my bio, that's funny. But it's exactly what happened. I played track and field, and football in high school and college - but my knees started to hurt. The truth is, we were storing this old upright piano in my basement for one of my cousins. And I was a big Elton John and Billy Joel fan, along with Jerry Lee Lewis and Ronnie Milsap. Then one day I heard the song "Easy" by the Commodores and I thought it was just awesome. So I went down to that piano and started noodling around and I figured it out for myself. I guess I just had a knack for it.

Bee: So you had a pretty diverse range of influence, from bangers like Jerry Lee to much more articulate players like Billy Joel.

Vassar: I love all kinds of music and I've been so lucky to have that exposure. My dad was a singer and we had a household full of music. I have one sister who loves heavy metal, so I heard a lot of Ozzy Osbourne, AC/DC and Iron Maiden growing up. And my other sister is more hillbilly, so I heard a lot of Hank WIlliams, Jr and George Strait. And I just listened to everything - Earth WInd & Fire, the Beatles, Merle Haggard, Journey and Fleetwood Mac, so I think it helped a lot to have such a real love of all kinds of music.

Bee: So how young were you when you started writing your own music?

Vassar: I had been trying things for awhile, and then I ended up writing a song for my high school graduation. I sang it on stage and everything. And you know, looking back on it, it wasn't a half bad song. But you know as a writer, it's a craft so I think you have to do it a lot to get much better at it.

Bee: Are you the kind of songwriter who digs in every time some bit of inspiration hits you, or do you sit down at the piano every day at 10 am whether you feel like writing or not?

Vassar: It's all over the place for me. I can sit down with a piano or guitar, and I get a lot of ideas when I'm on an airplane. It's about getting in a place where you can shut off the phone, and emails and those kinds of things. I guess I write some of my best lyrics on airplanes

Newtown Bee: How about when you're collaborating with some of these monster country artists?

Vassar: You really have to meld personalities. I have a real hard time writing with someone who I have nothing in common with - I mean, I've written with so many people, from Paul Williams and JD Souther to Rob Thomas. Maybe it's about all sharing a common ground. We're all crazy enough to be songwriters and something can always come out of a conversation. That's what I love.

We all come from somewhere else to sit here in Nashville and try to make our way. It's fun. I just wrote with Hunter Hayes, and he can play every instrument, as well as working with Protools and stuff. He writes on a laptop. Then you go write with Merle Haggard, and you just sit in a room with him and talk. That's deep. These younger cats just do it differently. You're not going to find a drum sequencer in Willie Nelson's room.

Bee: It was around your second album that you got plugged into the literacy movement. Did you grow up around anyone who was challenged at reading?

Vassar: I have someone close to me who is dyslexic, so it was interesting getting to know the challenges that person faced after we met. And he's still a dear, dear person in my life. So when Walmart came calling asking me to write a song about literacy, at first I was just drawing a blank. I've written about everything from breakups to sex, drugs and rock and roll - but literacy, come on...

Bee: Probably easier to write a song about axe handles, right?

Vassar: (laughing) But it was really fun, and when I sat down to write it it was really fun. And then a bunch of my friends came to help me on the track you know - Sara Evans, Martina McBride, Kenny Chesney, and Brooks and Dunn all came in when we called.

Bee: I understand your latest thing is a video series you're doing showcasing your musical friends while enjoying some of the bounty of your wine cellar.

Phil Vassar: We're editing the latest episode right now, which I shot with music legend Steve Cropper [Booker T & The MGs], who of course wrote "(Sittin' on) The Dock of the Bay." And we sit around and talk about music and enjoy some fine wine. He has lived an amazing life. So we sat down in the wine cellar and just jammed. I've got Keb' Mo coming in next week. And then Big & Rich are stopping by. I'm going to do one with my neighbor Tommy Shaw from Styx, who lives right behind me here in Nashville. It's like Jay Leno with wine. It's such a comfortable environment.

Bee: So what's in store for this pre-Valentine's Day show at The Ridgefield Playhouse on February 12?

Vassar: I'll tell you, I love being out with the guys, hanging out on the bus and playing songs with them at night. I've got Steve Cook on bass, and Jake Caldwell has been my drummer since 2004, along with Jeff Smith on guitar; and Jefferson Jarvis backing me up on keyboards. It's an amazing great time - I mean, it's invigorating. I'm really excited about this tour and the chance to visit with all my friends up in Connecticut.

We'll do a few things from the new album, and I think we'll do a bunch of stuff everybody knows from my catalog. I m

ady and the wince cellar show. It's pretty awesome.

Bee: It must be great to see enjoy such a progression of success without the distraction of stepping knee deep in mud, right?

Vassar: (laughing) Yeah well, I've taken a lot of those steps, too!

For tickets to the Phil Vassar show February 12, visit the Ridgefield Playhouse box office at 80 East Ridge, call 203-438-5795, or visit ridgefieldplayhouse.org. For fan meet & greet details, visit philvassar.com.

ean it's been quite a ride, through all the collaborations and the shows, and now we've got a new album re

Phil Vassar rocks "Six Pack Summer" during a 2011 Studio 987 set at the Bing Lounge for KUPL FM in Portland, Oregon.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WIlSGOik7iM

Check out Vassar performing "I'm Alright" with JoDee Messina at the CMA Fest 2015:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hiI885YOHyY

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