People assume musicians lack fear when they perform in front of a crowd. They're wrong.

	Singer Pat Green says he wishes country music had more depth. Click photo for larger image. Pat Green With: Kenny Chesney, Brooks and Dunn, Sara Evans and Sugarland. Where: Heinz Field. When: 4:30 p.m. Saturday. Tickets: $45-$89; 412-323-1919.

Just ask country singer Pat Green, an act featured on Kenny Chesney's "Flip Flop Tour." Sure, he's afraid when it's show time, but it's not a bad thing. In fact, he says it helps him perform.

"I like the edge it gives you five minutes before the show ... when your stomach gets a little uneasy," Green said. "It's a poignant moment."

Green has had a lot of poignant moments the past dozen years, having performed almost constantly since his first record, "Dancehall Dreamer," in 1995. The musician hopes to emulate fellow Texans, such as Robert Earl Keen, Jerry Jeff Walker and Willie Nelson.

Having been the rare artist to have toured with Kenny Chesney and Dave Matthews, he says Chesney is more precise, while Matthews is more unpredictable. "I know where Kenny's band will go, whereas I didn't know where Dave's band would go," he said. "That's just a difference ... I don't know if it's a good or a bad thing."

As for his own studio efforts, he goes for the unique. Green said his most recent effort, "Cannonball," was different than past works because he spent more time in the studio and with the overall production. He said some of Nashville's finest musicians contributed to the album.

Green is susceptible to the pressure many musicians feel when they want to top their last work. He uses his intuition, rather than reading critics, to determine how good an album is.

"I just have to listen to myself and listen to that thing inside of me," he said. "If you're still proud of it, and what you're doing is making you happy, then you don't have to beat yourself up over it."

Even though he is proud of his work, Green has been labeled by some as a sellout. They think he sacrificed principles for greater popularity, creating more mainstream Nashville pop music instead of the more original, Texas-flavored music that first brought him attention. He dismisses such talk, saying 90 percent of his current and past fans are happy with his work.

"I get angry when people don't want me and my band to be successful or don't want me to spread my wings," he said. "The moment you take money to do what you enjoy creatively ... then you're a sellout. We're all sellouts."

The money and popularity that Green has acquired have not given the man a huge ego. After all, it's about being appreciated rather than being known. He hasn't built walls between himself and his fans -- an accessibility that has led to some interesting encounters.

"I've had some weird things happen where people come to my house and knock on the front door. It's fine with me. If I'm eating dinner and you want to say, 'Hi' -- that's fine," Green said. "So long as I'm not engrossed in deep conversation."

Nor interrupt him when he is writing a deep song. Depth is something Green said he wished country music had more of. He criticized cliche-ridden music, where an artist takes a well-known saying and repeats it throughout the song. Originality is deeply important to him.

"You're a musician," he said. "There's a reason you got where you got in this world. It's not that hard to sit there and think about stuff."

When penning songs, he is leery of thinking too deeply about politics. He feels that should be left to the pundits. He said he admired The Beatles, but he criticized John Lennon for singing protest songs about the Vietnam War.

"To be honest. I didn't want to hear Lennon talk about the war," Green said. "What does he know about war? He knows how to put chords together and make a song. Maybe that's just me. There's millions out there who would applaud him, though."

Despite his apolitical taste in music, he continues to strive for depth in his music.

As for his audience, "They want both sides," he said. "They want to have a little bit of balance. They want to have a good time, but also to hear something important."

Those who go to his show will probably do both.