HUNTINGTON -- Eight studio albums into an already distinguished career, country artist Gary Allan says he makes records so he can play them live, loud and with conviction.

"I've been playing live since I was 12-years-old, and I have always loved it," the now-41-year-old singer said in a recent telephone interview. "The songs you recorded come alive in new ways. They might take on a new feel or a new vibe each night, depending on where we're playing."

A veteran who originally cut his teeth in the club circuit around his native southern California, Allan has toured relentlessly since signing a Nashville label deal nearly 14 years ago.

He's played nearly everywhere, from the dingiest dives to fairs and festivals on the corn dog circuit to massive stadium shows in support of country music superstars like Kenny Chesney, Rascal Flatts and Keith Urban.

He said he never tires of it.

"Interacting with the audience, feeling the room you're playing come alive," he explained, "there isn't a cooler place to be. It might be the intimacy you feel in a small club or the energy you get in front of 20,000 people."

His latest tour is his biggest headlining effort to date and was launched in support of his forthcoming eighth album "Get off on the Pain," due in January. The lead single "Today" is climbing Billboard's country songs chart, now just shy of the top 20.

"It's a song about a guy who sees his ex-girlfriend getting married to another guy," Allan said. "She's moved on, but he hasn't. It hits him hard, and he realizes what he's lost. It's a song that people can relate to in many ways."

"Today" gives listeners a small taste of what Allan promises to be a "different" album, something that blends sounds from throughout his career.

"There are parts that will remind people of 'Smoke Rings in the Dark' to 'Livin' Hard,'" he said. "Then, we throw some curves, too. We tried some new stuff we've never tried before."

He admits it was difficult to hand in the album to his label MCA Nashville without hesitation.

"I never feel like an album is finished," he admitted. "I think of things I could have changed or done differently. That's one reason why I don't like to listen to my older albums. It's frustrating."

Artistic second-guessing aside, Allan's career has featured some big hits in recent years. After years of living on the fringe of country music's mainstream, most listeners were introduced to him via 2000's "Right Where I Need to Be."

He has gone on to rack up six million album sales, 10 top 10 singles and a collection of No. 1 hits including "Man to Man," "Tough Little Boys" and "Nothing on but the Radio."

His latest No.1 single "Watching Airplanes" also earned him critical praise, perhaps none as high as Rolling Stone magazine's hailing him as "country music's mainstream maverick."

"I appreciated the compliments," Allan said. "I've always done my own thing, and I'm happy people are enjoying it much as I do."

Allan brings a couple old friends on tour in Jack Ingram and the Eli Young Band.

Almost 12 years into his career, Houston-area native Jack Ingram struck a chord with mainstream country audiences in 2007. His No. 1 single "Wherever You Are" and a cover of rock band Hinder's "Lips of an Angel" helped him earn the 2008 Academy of Country Music award for "Best New Male Vocalist."

This past summer, Ingram released his eighth studio album "Big Dreams & High Hopes." The single "Barefoot and Crazy" was a top 10 hit, while "Seeing Stars," a duet with Patty Griffin, is still climbing the charts.

The Eli Young Band, of Denton, Texas, is a country-rock quartet that spent eight hard years playing every roadhouse, juke joint, and dive along Interstate 35 before landing a deal with Universal South in 2008. Their "Jet Black & Jealous" album has yielded three top 40 songs on the country chart, including the top 10 hit "Always the Love Songs."

Courtesy of Gary Allan

Courtesy of Gary Allan