Billy Ray Cyrus breaks into a wide smile when asked when he performed his last full-blown tour.
"I did a half-blown tour about a year ago," he laughs. "As a matter of fact, just 'blown' is about the best way to describe it. It was poorly routed. We had one date in Arizona and the next one two nights later in South Carolina.
"Everywhere we went, the crowds were great, and it was all good, but that routing killed us. ... As you know, traveling through the airports these days, it's hard enough if you go through there with just what you're wearing. Try going through security with a guitar case and long hair. Man, it's rubber glove city out there."
Cyrus has kept his sense of humor during a career of ups and downs that exploded in 1992 when "Achy Breaky Heart" spent five weeks at No. 1. After spending several years primarily concentrating on his acting career that has made him a TV star in Doc and Hannah Montana, Cyrus got a particularly enthusiastic reception in June when he returned to the stage of the CMA Music Festival and introduced "Ready, Set, Don't Go," the first single from his current album, Home at Last.
He's looking forward to connecting with fans during a series of tour dates in October and November, although he's already spent a lot of one-on-one time with them during in-store appearances to promote the CD which debuted in August at No. 3 on Billboard's country chart. His fans also provided overwhelming backing earlier this year during his stint as a contestant on the hit TV program, Dancing With the Stars.
BOB: Maybe if we all start calling him "B-Ray" it will spread and we'll totally know that we started it!!! Or... not, whatever.
Thanks: CMT