Lubbock-raised Redneck Tenor tries to embrace hick side

Nothing about The 3 Redneck Tenors appealed to Lubbock singer Jonathan Fruge when he first heard the concept.

"I didn't want to do the show," said Fruge, who was offered a role in a Lubbock Moonlight Musicals production in 2012. "I was a graduate student in musical theater ... (and) I feel like I'm a method actor. I like to get into the character, so this show didn't appeal to me."

That feeling persisted even after Fruge completed his Lubbock run - even to when he was hired by show creator Matthew Lord to join the touring production of the show.

"I moved to Branson ... and the circumstances ... kind of put me in a position where I had to fall in love with the show or it wasn't going to be successful for me," Fruge said.

He also fell in love with Billy Bob - the character he plays in the concert, which features himself, Richardson native Blake Davidson (as Billy Billee) and founder Lord (as Billy Joe) as a trio of mulleted singers with unexpectedly professional voices.

The show comes to Amarillo for a two-night run at 7:30 p.m. Friday and Saturday in the Globe-News Center for the Performing Arts, 500 S. Buchanan St.

"I've found that Billy Bob isn't a character any more," Fruge said. "It's just another name for Jonathan Fruge. I don't act from the stage any more; I just am me."

That's not to say Fruge is a redneck, through.

"I think I'm the furthest thing from a redneck," he said. "Matt has allowed me to explore a different side of the character.

"Billy Bob used to be the slow one and the young one, and he's allowed me to explore that Billy Bob wants to be the worldly one, wants to be the one that's popular.

"Billy Bob has also developed his own sense of style. I definitely don't wear baggy redneck clothes like the other guys, even when we're in redneck gear," Fruge said. "The character is constantly looking to see if his pants are at the right place on his hips, if his shirts hang the right way."

Lord came up with the concept about nine years ago for a fundraiser for the Ohlook Performing Arts Center in Grapevine.

After a successful debut, the show was booked into the Bass Performance Hall in Fort Worth, then started touring regionally. The trio found even more acclaim during the second season of NBC's "America's Got Talent," then began regular performances in Las Vegas and Branson, Mo.

Fruge, 30, now serves as the tour's musical adviser, and Lord has nothing but compliments for his "freaky" high voice that allowed the pair to rewrite the song endings in the show.

"The endings were always great and had great punches at the end, as all good musical numbers do, but with Jonathan, all of the sudden I could write (higher notes)," Lord said. "He took endings that were very good and made them special."

how to go

o what: The 3 Redneck Tenors

o when: 7:30 p.m. Friday and Saturday

o where: Globe-News Center for the Performing Arts, 500 S. Buchanan St.

o how much: $25, $35 and $45, plus fees

o information: 806-378-3096 or www.panhandletickets.com