Eric Church might have a bad-ass stage persona, but there is one thing that can threaten this singer/songwriter's tough exterior—his first child, which wife Katherine is expecting later this year. “I'm excited, scared. This child depends on me for guidance and direction and I struggle with that myself. Now I'm waiting on the time when they are 9 or 10 and they pull out the iPod and I have to explain [my song] 'Smoke a Little Smoke,'” says Eric.

Eric chuckles when asked if he and his wife want a boy or a girl. “I've always made fun of people when they said [they don't have a preference]. I thought, 'Aw, you care,' but you really don't. When the time comes, all you care about is that they are healthy. We're going to have more than one kid, if we are fortunate enough. We want a couple, then we'll see. I came into this year thinking that I was going to have one child, which is my record in July, now I'm going to have two.”

The newborn will come in the midst of an already busy schedule for Eric and wife Katherine, as Eric will be touring and have a new album to promote, but Eric seems to take it in stride. “We do what we do and my wife is out here with me," he says. "We'll put headphones on the little bugger and we'll go play music. He or she better be ready to roll."