DRIVING ON COUNTRY CROONER WAYNE HANCOCK HITS THE ROAD IN SEARCH OF FULFILLMENT.

Byline: Sandra Barrera Staff Writer

Country singer Wayne ``The Train'' Hancock will be taking to the highway in a few days. He's got a show in Los Angeles, and another in San Diego.

The drive from Texas to California is a long one, but he doesn't mind. In fact, Hancock has an ongoing romance with the road as much as he does with performing in front of people.

And nothing comes between Hancock and his loves, not even a record label.

Hancock recently had a falling out with the Sherman Oaks-based label Ark 21, on which he released three albums over the last three years. He says he's now in talks with a few labels, but nothing is set in stone. Still, being unattached hasn't stopped the singer from getting ready to record his own five-track album in January.

Although he's in a heap of debt and living out of his mom's house, Hancock does own a touring van with just enough room for his three musicians and equipment.

It may not sound like much to some musicians, but it's plenty for the 35-year-old whose singing bears a similarity to that of his hero, the legendary Hank Williams.

His van gets him to and from gigs all across the country.

Hancock has amassed an underground following over the course of the last six years. Some songs off his three releases have even been covered by his hero's grandson, Hank Williams III.

``It is ironic that he is Hank Williams III, and he's now doing my music and doing it like me, just like I did his grandfather's music,'' he says.

Hancock was a Hank Williams impersonator as a boy. He even made the local country music airwaves a few times.

But when he began singing professionally, he realized he couldn't keep doing Williams. So he started writing his own material.

Hancock's previous albums have all been inspired by the music of roots rockers such as Ray Condo, Big Sandy and the sound of big-band swing. He says they taught him to inject fire into his country - or as he calls it, road jazz.

Many of his infectious blends of blues, rockabilly and jazz songs like ``87 Southbound,'' ``Thunderstorms and Neon Signs'' and ``Drive On'' are tributes to being on the road.

``My music goes really well with cheeseburgers and Coca-Colas and driving 75 miles an hour down the highway,'' he says with a laugh.

They were inspired by what he remembers from his childhood in the back of his father's car on those long drives. With nothing else to do, Hancock says he would stare out the window and watch the world go by for hours at a time.

``I remember seeing big trucks, telephone poles, mountain ranges, neon signs,'' he says. ``Everything above the window because I was just a little kid.''

Hancock's songs also reflect a man who has been to the edge and back. He's struggled with alcoholism, had his share of bad relationships and walked away from one too many close calls on the road.

Then there was Nashville.

``It's not like going over to your friend's house to play guitar on his porch for him and his buddies,'' says Hancock. ``It's more like going over to some rich guy's house and the minute you get there he shoots you down in front of everybody, and kicks you out. That was Nashville, in a nutshell, for me.''

While times are still rough for Hancock, he keeps rolling with the punches and putting life's hard knocks into his music.

``That's part of the job,'' he says.

WAYNE HANCOCK

Where: House of Blues, 8430 Sunset Blvd., Hollywood.

When: 9 p.m. Jan. 3, 2001.

Tickets: $10. Call [phone].

CAPTION(S):

photo

Photo:

no caption (Wayne Hancock)