Submitted photo Mount Union native Chris Woodward performs on stage.

THREE SPRINGS — Breaking into the country music industry isn’t easy. There’s a whole lotta competition and honky tonk out there, but Mount Union native Chris Woodward is sure giving it his darndest try. 

The 54-year-old Woodward does things his way, which is not necessarily conventional. He certainly has persevered, releasing his 16th album during a career that has spanned three decades. 

Woodward jokes he’s hoping to “hit 20 albums before I slow down. I don’t think I’ll ever retire.” 

Woodward and his band, Shindiggin, also tour, playing 100 to 110 shows a year. “We’ll be hitting a lot of local fairs this summer before we go back into the bars and clubs for the next three months,” Woodward said. 

That’s good news for their fans. When taking a break from touring to read well wishes on social media, Woodward shared the following fan shoutouts. “Awesome vibes. Had a ton of messages that the new CD is awesome,” Woodward said. “Thank you all. I love what I do. Someone even said, ‘Please never retire.’ My reply, ‘As long as I can sing, I’ll be singing ’til the day I die.'” 

That’s certainly a different twist than the young boy from Mount Union who took guitar lessons – but quit. Several years later, when he joined the United States Navy, Woodward picked up the instrument again. This time, it changed his life’s path. 

Life at sea can be a lonely place and the then 21-year-old Woodward decided to buy his first guitar off a fellow sailor. 

“I had nothing to do on my downtime while out at sea and this guy had three guitars, so I bought one off of him,” Woodward recalled. “So that’s what I did on my downtime. I thought I could teach myself how to play this thing. Before I knew it, six months later, I was writing my own songs, and that is how it all began. 

After he returned from the Navy in 1990, he joined a heavy metal rock band; it wasn’t until 1996 that he made the switch to country music. He met a friend who played country music and asked if he wanted to jam sometime. He accepted the offer. 

“I just fell in love with it,” Woodward said. “What drew me to country music was the realness of the writing.” 

Woodward formed the band Wild at Heart with his uncle Butch Woodward and cousin Ron Stewart. The trio played together for about four years before Woodward said life and other obligations became more important. 

“Once it kind of diminished, that’s when I decided to do my own thing,” he added. 

The life of a country music artist isn’t easy. When Woodward came out with his first album in 1997, he put up his car as collateral. “I was young, but people really supported it,” he explained. I did another one the next year then the next year. There was probably a five-year span where I didn’t write. Then I kind of got back into it.” 

All of his albums have original material, although he and Shindiggin also cover songs during concerts. His latest album, “I Don’t Want to See America Die,” has five original songs. 

Woodward admits he’s a bit old-fashioned when it comes to the production process. You can’t download his music; it’s available on CD only. 

“Albums don’t sell like they used to as far as CDs and such,” he said. “I just do my thing – me and the band – we play our shows and sell our merchandise.” 

Woodward feels fortunate that his career has taken the road it has. “I love what I do,” he said. “I’m grateful for what I do. We do it on a smaller level than nationals (artists). But I get to do what I want to do, and that’s what it’s all about.” 

That’s mainly writing and performing, but it also includes everything else that comes with singing. 

There certainly have been plenty of thrills along the way. This summer, they’ll be opening for well-known country singer artist Dierks Bentley and the Hot Country Knights at the York Fair on July 30. 

On Woodward’s latest album was inspired by the hometown heroes signs he saw riding home from a show. “I kept looking at them, and I got home and I wrote until like five in the morning – the first verse and the chorus,” he said. “The next day I called my buddies and we wrote it, and it turned out to be an amazing song and a great tribute.” 

Of his 16 CDs, the first two were produced in Beaver Springs. He traveled back and forth to Nashville for 12 more and the others were made in Ohio.  

From a production standpoint, Woodward said he used to travel to Nashville because working in the Music City gave him “inspiration back then. It’s more about the creative process now.” 

Woodward has been working with a new producer in Ohio that he really liks and describes the experience as having “the time of my life just recording there,” he said. 

Woodward, who now lives in Three Springs, certainly knows he would have achieved the same level of success without his band, Shindiggin. Lead guitarist Mike McCartney is from Burnham. “He sat in with us one time and eventually became our full-time, lead bass player,” Woodward said, who is the lead singer and plays acoustic guitar.  

They share the stage with bass guitarist Brian McHugh, of Bellefonte; and drummer Scott Kinsey, of Linglestown. 

For more information, visit www.chriswoodwardmusic.com or find the band’s page on Facebook.