Garth Brooks casts a long shadow

JACKSONVILLE, FLA. – No hoodie, cowboy hat or cowboy boots. Garth Brooks doesn't look very Garth-like this afternoon.

But in his combat boots, black industrial jumpsuit and ball cap, he looks like a man on a mission as he arrives at a news conference shortly before taking the stage at Jacksonville Memorial Arena. He apologizes for being several minutes late and gazes purposefully at a couple of dozen media representatives. He's here to talk about "Man Against Machine" — his first album of new material in 13 years that arrives on "11/11," he says — and his return to the road after a 16-year break to raise his three daughters.

He's booked 11 concerts at Target Center in Minneapolis, starting Thursday, and sold more than 190,000 tickets — a record for Minnesota and for Brooks himself.

"Knowing when you part that curtain and go out on that stage, you're gonna get a hell of a show from them" — meaning the fans — "that's St. Paul/Minneapolis right there," he said fondly, remembering his nine-concert run at Target Center in 1998, when he set his previous single-city mark of 162,833 tickets sold.

Brooks likes numbers. Big numbers. Like: 134 million albums sold, a figure bested only by the Beatles and Elvis Presley. Since he launched the Garth Brooks World Tour in September with a whopping 13 shows in suburban Chicago, might he try to extend his Minneapolis run to set a new record?

"No," he said. "As [his longtime promoter] Ben Farrell would say, 'I think we drained the swamp.' "

There's no resignation in his voice. No braggadocio, either. Brooks sells sincerity. The room can be full of people, but he looks you in the eye and, like Bill Clinton or Bono, makes you feel you're the only person who matters.

"I found him to be extremely genuine, very down to earth," said Shane Wooten, a Florida country singer who interviewed Brooks for American Country Mobile Television. "A lot of artists you meet don't always match their stage persona. From the news conference to the stage, Brooks didn't seem like he changed much."

Boundless energy is another Brooks strength. Wooten thinks he is better than ever onstage: "The staging is refreshing. I think his time in Vegas [doing solo shows on weekends before his return to the road] has taught him better blocking, better staging and how to get more out of those big production shows."

Country singers know why Brooks is special.

"He takes a small moment and makes it seem so big," said rising star Kip Moore.

For a 52-year-old who lives on an Oklahoma farm, Brooks looks remarkably pale and unravaged by the Great Plains sun or middle age. Maybe it's because he spent so much time indoors with his daughters for the past decade-plus.

Always prone to paunchiness, the former Oklahoma State javelin thrower looks in game shape — at least more so than he did in a November 2013 TV special taped in Las Vegas.

He's eager to share parenting tips, although he won't go into specifics about his three girls (the youngest started college this fall).

"There are no rules, for one," he said. "The secret to life is written in a Don Williams song called 'Good Ole Boys Like Me' when he says, 'I guess we're all going to be what we're going to be.' You can teach your children manners, you can introduce them to the Lord, you can give them an education, pay for it. But they're gonna be what they're gonna be. And as you watch your kids grow up, you realize they become the worst villain in the world or they become the savior of the world — whichever one of those two or in-between — I don't think you love them any less."

OK, he did cop to one rule: no Facebook page until age 18.

"It's about how much privacy you're giving away," he said. "Until you're smart enough, old enough to walk on your own two feet, then we kind of protect our children."

Brooks went to games and other school activities with his girls. He hit the books, too, earning an MBA in 2011 from Oklahoma State, where he received a degree in advertising three decades ago. He enrolled as Troyal Brooks, his given name (Garth is his middle name), and claims no one recognized him.

Despite his marketing acumen and obsession with humongous numbers, Brooks declined to speculate on first-week sales of "Man Against Machine," which comes in the middle of his Minneapolis run.

"Usually I have goals, but not this time," said the biggest act of the 1990s, who has six albums that sold 10 million-plus. (The Beatles have six; Led Zeppelin has five.) "I have expectations in my head, but they'll stay in there."

He acknowledges that the record business has changed in the age of iTunes, Spotify and Pandora. He's co-owner of a new digital music service called GhostTunes, which is selling "The Bundle," a collection of his eight studio albums, for a modest $30.

Facebook, Twitter and even MySpace weren't around when he put out his last album, "Scarecrow," in 2001. After much counseling from his kids, he promises he'll jump into social media for the launch of his album Nov. 11.

Also thanks to his daughters, Brooks has paid attention to the music world. He praised Jason Aldean, country's newest superstar, and had kind words for Lady Gaga, Miley Cyrus and Bruno Mars.

With country radio being dominated by younger studs, where does he fit in today?

"We don't know what to think," said iHeart Media programming Vice President Gregg Swedberg, who oversees Twin Cities country station K102. "You take 10-plus years off and you wonder if the audience has moved on. We're playing his new song ['People Loving People'] in regular rotation, and so far there's no definitive opinion from the listeners. But it's not blowing the doors off."

Brooks is a realist.

"Radio has been very sweet to me," he said, acknowledging that he turned to radio stations to promote the tour. "But I'm sure there's going to be some stations who go, 'We love the guy to death, but we can't play anybody who's from 1989. He doesn't fit the format.' "

Even if he doesn't have a hot single, Brooks can boast something no other pop star can: playing two arena shows in one night. On four nights of his two-weekend Target Center engagement — the Fridays and Saturdays — he's set for performances at 6:30 and 10:30 p.m.

How can a singer known for giving 110 percent onstage muster the stamina for a doubleheader?

"It's an energy that only comes with the music. You can train all you want. But it's going to be different once you hit the stage," he said. "The main thing is the crowd. They always kind of dictate the show.

"The first [show of the night] is a real powder keg explosive and the other is this laid-back, fun kind of swing thing that can go all night long. The first show doesn't expect you to go long, so if you do go long, that's points. The second show doesn't expect you to be energetic because you just did a show. You come out energetic and it catches 'em by surprise. When everyone gets caught by surprise, good things happen."

Easier said than done. One night of his Atlanta stand in September happened to be the birthday of his wife, Trisha Yearwood, who sings a few tunes in the show.

"After the second show, we got into the hotel and I said, 'OK, I'm going to order some room service.' The next thing I know she's waking me up and I've got the phone in one hand and I've got the menu in the other. I didn't make the call. I guess that means I'm getting older. But out on the stage you don't feel it. "

When he returned to performing in 2009 at Steve Wynn's Encore Las Vegas, he did two shows per night, weekends only, working solo, for three years.

Vegas tickets cost as much as $225 but the theater had only 1,500 seats. For his current arena tour, all tickets are $70.50, including fees. By contrast, admission was $21.50 during his 1998 tour. Nonetheless, $70 is far below industry standards for blockbuster veterans (Fleetwood Mac is getting $177, Neil Diamond $147.50, James Taylor $89.50).

"I think it's expensive," he said. "Let's face it: $70 times two. Baby sitters. Or you bring the kids. T-shirts. You're in deep."

Brooks is playing multiple nights in every city, not just the big ones. Hence, he will reach the same number of fans as he did on his last tour even though he's playing fewer cities.

"What I learned in working with Steve Wynn is that everything is a destination," said Brooks, sounding very much the businessman. "So the more you can make it a destination, the better for that city and the better the party is. So far, it's been proven to be that way."

He's putting that MBA to work.

Twitter: @JonBream • 612-673-1719