O&AN: What made you decide to pose nude for the Playgirl photo spread? Was there any fear that making that particular move would alienate potential fans?

CH: It was my wife’s idea. See, my wife is pretty damn hot and she suggested one time while we were watching Girls Next Door and I teasingly bet her that I could get into Playgirl before she got into Playboy. It was kinda weird when it really ended up happening. I felt like the way we approached the Playgirl spread was very tastefully done. You really don’t see anything but my ass and if you are around me for more than twenty minutes at a time you might and up seeing my ass anyway. If somebody decided not to buy my album because they saw me naked in Playgirl then they aren’t likely to buy a Craig Hand album regardless.

O&AN: Knowing that Playgirl is direct marketed to the gay community, did you have any reservations about that fact? Did it bother you at all knowing you were appearing nude in a pseudo-gay publication considering the somewhat strained relationship country music and the gay community has had at times in the past?

CH: Not at all. I’m not a gay man but I have a lot of gay friends. If they want to buy my albums and be a part of the Craig Hand experience I welcome them aboard. It’s real horseshit for people in country music to even try to exclude gay people. If you go to downtown Nashville and hang out with enough people you are bound to run into a lot of them who are gay in the industry. It’s just the way it is. What people do in their personal lives is none of my damn business and I don’t judge anybody for who they are.