When I listen back to my music and everyone else that's out there, I'm aware that there's something I can do that the next guy doesn't do.
I'm not interested in forcing my music on people, and that's what the whole music industry nowadays is based on is forcing stations to play it, forcing people to listen to it.
I've always heard music in my head since I was a little kid, so I've always played towards that. If I felt bad, that's what I did.
I think it's almost a law of nature that there are only certain things that hit an emotive space, and that's what was always special for me about music: it made me feel something.
I'm excited to be part of a movement that's progressing country music. There's always gonna be people saying, 'It ain't country anymore,' but I don't get into that whole deal.
Because I'm pushing my body so hard already, the last thing I want to do is have music that's really too strong, in my head.
I'm not really a big Springsteen guy. I'll listen to the music, but ... I didn't really get attached to it as much as, like, country artists. That's really who I listen to.
There's so many people that follow the trend, and then it gets to a point where it gets a little stale. So, in music; I mean, whoever's the new trendsetter, that's who people follow.
There's a lot of reflection that goes on whenever I write a song - it's been a wild whirlwind last couple of years and there's a lot to talk about, and hopefully that's evident in the music.
I have so many opinions about everything it just comes out during my music. It's a battle for me. I try not to be preachy. That's a real danger.
There are a lot of bands that have a huge appeal, but I don't understand why. Guns n' Roses. U2. But you know, that's just my thing. Music is pretty personal.
I've pretty much run the circle of labels and dealing with that whole kind of battle, because you're the one creating the music, but you're not the final say. That's always been hard.
That internal ache is the starting point of country music. If it's a happy song and I can still feel sad in it? That's my favorite.
In the '90s, the radio was still alive with all different kinds of points of view, and I think that's why people are longing for that time. It was the first time that alternative music broke through to the mainstream.
Even the most jingoistic person would have to admit that even American cultural music comes from Europe. That's what classical music is, real European music.
I loved the guitar, and I had all of this music in my head. My passion for the guitar and the ideas for what I could create musically were equal. So that's where I was.
I want to make the music that people remember, and it doesn't need a trend; it doesn't need to be constantly hyped. There's no time period for it. That's the type of music I want to make.
There are some songs where I'll have had the music for 20 years and then finally the lyric will come through. That's not common but it does happen. Then there are other songs that come really quickly.
I have come to terms with the fact that it's called pop music - that's what I play, and that is what I write. I think it is a pretty broad category.
I don't feel comfortable doing interviews. My profession is music, and writing songs. That's what I do. I like to do it, but I hate to talk about it.
In order to deal with all the medical cost demands and other challenges in the U.S., as we look to raise that revenue, the rich will have to pay slightly more. That's quite clear.
