We have that storytelling history in country and bluegrass and old time and folk music, blues - all those things that combine to make up the genre. It was probably storytelling before it was songwriting, as far as country music is concerned. It's fun to be a part of that and tip the hat to that. You know, and keep that tradition alive.
I think the path is different for everybody. Go after the doors that are open to you. That has always been my motto getting into the music business. Do the things that seem to be good opportunities and work hard at it. Try to make good decisions and be nice. Hopefully all of that will pay off at some point.
I was a car salesman, if you can believe it.
Among my dad's generation, when you gave another man a pocketknife as a gift, it was a show of respect. I'll still give someone the knife out of my pocket.
America's military allow the rest of us to do what we do.
I can only be me. I have a hard time being a chameleon as a singer.
I just try to make the best music that I can. People are going to label it whatever they're going to label it.
Country music is one of those places where we support each other and prop each other up.
I'm not going to ask musicians to sit there and pretend to play. It feels insulting to the musicians to me.
My wife has great taste in everything but men. The vast majority of the songs on my debut album, 'Traveller,' came from lists she made.
I want the dude in the top row to feel like he's down there on the front row in a club.
I always tell people, 'The music's free. I get paid to travel.'
I walked into a demo session one time, and a guy said, 'I'm thinking kind of like a Trace Adkins thing.' And I looked him right in the eye and said, 'Man, you've got the wrong guy. I'm gonna have to fire myself. You've got to hire somebody else.'
I think it's OK if somebody likes my music and likes Sam Hunt's music, too. And I think if we're both selling records, it's good for everybody. I think it allows other records to get made.
For me, the more time you can take and the more care you can take with songs, the better off you're going to be.
My favorite record of all time is Tom Petty's 'Wildflowers.' I hold it as the standard - in terms of sonics, sequencing, and songs. It shows that making a complete record is important, rather than just making a single.
If you think about what everyone else will think, you forget to just make music.
I'm not a hustler. I don't pitch songs. I don't ask people to write with me. It's not what I do.
I don't make records to win awards. I make records to make records and hopefully make the records as good as they can be.
A lot of great bluegrass comes out of Kentucky. There's a lot of great music, like the Judds, Billy Ray Cyrus, Ricky Skaggs, and Keith Whitley. There's a lot of bluegrass intertwined with country music.
