Nashville resident rocker Tommy Shaw set to play Ascend Amphitheater

You could say Tommy Shaw, guitar player and vocalist for the rock band Styx, has integrated well into life in Nashville.

He and his wife Jeanne, who he met at a Damn Yankees/Poison concert at the late Starwood Amphitheater, moved to Nashville 10 years ago. The two bought Donna Summer's old house and since moving here, Shaw has recorded a bluegrass record featuring Allison Krauss and a slew of Nashville players. He played the Grand Ole Opry — and got invited back.

Shaw spoke to The Tennessean from a recent stop in Los Angeles while on tour with Styx ahead of the band's Nashville show. He talked about being a "weird little kid" from Montgomery, Alabama, meeting his wife Jeanne and how in the world he went from rocking with Styx and his other band Damn Yankees to making a bluegrass record.

It might seem like a big jump to his rock fans, but truth is, he grew up listening to bluegrass.

'Everything I've ever done has had a soundtrack to it'

As a kid in rural Alabama, Shaw describes himself as a "weird child." He says he was always distracted by music playing in his head as young as 5 or 6 years old. He even sang one of them for his mom and his sister in their kitchen one time.

"I finished the song and I put my hands out and I was so proud of myself," Shaw told The Tennessean. "I looked at them and they looked at me like, 'what are we gonna do with him?' Everything that I've ever done has always had a soundtrack to it."

It wasn't until one of his brother's friends left his guitar at the Shaw house that he got his hands on an instrument. Although being repeatedly told to not touch it, 9-year-old Shaw waited until everyone went to bed and took the guitar out front.

"It was the first time I played a guitar and I taught myself how to play 'Riders in the Sky,'" he said. " It just lit my brain up like I turned the porch light on or something."

That moment would lead to a lifelong career in Styx, Damn Yankees, solo projects and recordings with Damn Yankees member Jack Blades.

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Tommy Shaw's wife gave him a fake name when they met

Shaw remembers playing Starwood Amphitheater when Damn Yankees opened for Poison.

"I was single at the time and I was looking at all the female fans of Poison thinking, 'I'm never gonna meet anybody,'" he said. "I was in the dressing room after the show and I was just so lonely. About that time, the door opened up and it was like something out of a movie. This beautiful blonde haired young woman walked in like she owned the place."

Searching for a clever opening line, Shaw, who said he had "absolutely no game with women," stuck out his hand and said 'Hi. I'm Tommy Shaw." She was like "I know. I just saw you play out there.'"

Then she gave him a fake name, but she also let it slip that her roommate worked at CAA. The next day, Shaw called his agent and tracked down his mystery woman.

"It was one of the best decisions I ever made because we've been together for over 10 years and we've built an incredible life together."

The Shaws enjoy their life in Nashville

Once Shaw and his wife settled into Donna Summer's old house, they turned the basement into a studio for Shaw. It's where the latest Styx record, "Crash of the Crown" was written.

"One thing I love about Nashville is I'm not the only one who loves it and people are drawn to it mostly for music. Whether you're writing music or you're, you're a band member or you're a crew member or anything you're with your people when you're there. I was in a shop the other day and somebody came up next to me and said hey, I turned around and it was Kip Winger."

From playing with Ted Nugent to playing the Grand Ole Opry

Growing up, Shaw was enamored with watching Dolly Parton ad other performers on the Grand Ole Opry. After his rock career took off, he wondered if he could ever be accepted doing Opry music.

"I grew up with that Montgomery, Alabama and Prattville, Alabama, and I used to watch those morning shows and go to bluegrass concerts and I heard Alison Krauss at one of those when she was just a little kid. But I had gone so far into rock music in my career. I was in a band with Ted Nugent. I mean, that doesn't really strike up the idea of a bluegrass band."

He ended up making his first (and only) bluegrass record, "The Great Divide," in 2011. The album rose to No. 2 on the Billboard Top Bluegrass album chart.

Next came a gig at the Opry, which he says was as an "indescribable experience."

"I'm glad I made that record. I didn't realize there was not much of a hunger for the bluegrass community to have another rock guy doing a bluegrass thing," he said. "But it didn't stop us. We made a really good album."

He even found Krauss, who sang some harmonies on the record. "She came in and just brought tears to our eyes," he said.

Although he doesn't think he will do another bluegrass album, he said "The Great Divide" was his mother's favorite thing he'd ever done.

"She was my biggest supporter," he said. "That was the last music she listened to. When I think of that, I just have to pat myself on the back and go, you know, you were born to the right people and you have had a great life and it's still going on."

Nashville Rocks is a new series by music writer Melonee Hurt that explores all of the people making rock music out of Nashville. We’ll share can’t-miss stories and go behind the scenes with the artists, writers, producers and players keeping rock alive from Nashville. Tune down, turn it up and dig in.

If you go:

What: Styx with Foreigner and John Waite, the Renegades and Juke Box Heroes Tour

When: Fri. July 12, 7 p.m.

Where: Ascend Amphitheater

Tickets: www.livenation.com

This article originally appeared on Nashville Tennessean: Guitarist Tommy Shaw explains his love of music and making a bluegrass record