SHORT TAKES : David Keith to Sing Country

KNOXVILLE, Tenn. — David Keith, who acted in “An Officer and a Gentleman” and “Lords of Discipline,” is branching out as a singer in a country music band.

Keith, 36, will make his debut next week in his hometown of Knoxville with his Hard Country band, which he said has a “traditional, Appalachian hillbilly beat . . . but with electric guitars turned up just a little bit.”

“I just try everything,” Keith said. “When I go into something I never really think, ‘Oh, gosh, what if I fail at this?’ ”

Keith played with a more rock-oriented band called the Road Roosters a few years ago.

In his latest acting role, Keith appears in “The Two Jakes,” Jack Nicholson’s sequel to “Chinatown.”