NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) - Jason Priestley says he got a crash course on the Nashville music industry while directing a reality series about the Canadian band the Road Hammers.

Priestley, 38, followed the group to Nashville as they sought a record deal.

"I got there as an outsider following this band who had a lot of autonomy in Canada and were basically left alone by their record label and did things how they wanted to do them and were successful," the former "Beverly Hills, 90210" star told The Associated Press recently. "And here I am following them around in Nashville and they get greeted a lot with 'That's not the way we do it here' or 'Let me tell you how we do it in Nashville.' It was very interesting."

The series, "The Road Hammers," premiered last month on the Great American Country channel, where it's airing in eight half-hour weekly episodes (Thursday nights at 8:30 Eastern).

Priestley, who's Canadian, filmed the series last summer. He did a similar project a decade ago with the Canadian rock group Barenaked Ladies, following them on their U.S. tour.

"I have a lot friends who are musicians. I think I'm just fascinated by that industry," Priestley said. "It's just amazing that it works at all. It's a mess, but it works."

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