I think everybody has different priorities in their life. People live their lives differently. People become famous through all sorts of different reasons... some of it through art and some of it through just wanting to be famous. And I think how that all starts tends to reflect how you live your life daily.
You go through life experiences. Each record captures a different turning point in my life.
I'm a little more comfortable in that role. I love being in the studio.
I love the beginnings of artists when all they've got is raw talent and nothing else.
Sometimes I just cry at random stuff!
I don't swear much; I've taken those words out of my vocabulary, and having kids, you have to have two sets of language!
I think the industry is oblivious to the fact that most people listen to all kinds of stuff. I personally don't know of anyone who listens to only one genre of music. It's vanity because no one does.
It's something I've always loved doing. I'm not one of the artists who comes in and just does my bit. I'm there every second of every day. That's my hands-on situation.
Getting on the bus and touring was my life. And when that was not around, I felt myself a bit lost at times, because that was all I had.
There are certain songs that are sacred. People want to hear them just as they are in their head; they don't want you messing around with them. And then there are some other songs, if they've been around a long time in our set list, that I think we can take some creative liberties with.
Country seems to be finding a bigger audience. Certainly an audience out of the general country scene is finding me.
Once we get into the groove, we're kind of like long-distance runners - that adrenalin kicks in for me and I just keep running - and I don't stop!
I make no apologies for being a huge fan of radio songs.
Being with my family is very important to me, and touring is very important to me, too, because it's who I am. It's what I do.
I think it took me a while to convince Nashville that what I do is genuine and my heart's in the right place, and I love country music.
It can get a little costly if you try and leave it until then to write songs. But you're writing all the time. You're collecting songs. I've had songs that have been collected over a two-year period for my next record.
It's not the case of turning in a bunch of songs and recording the next month. I think you're looking for songs all year long and you're writing all year long.
My father's record collection was all country. That's how I was exposed to it.
They're mostly done before we went into the studio, although I do like writing in the studio.
You're always in a different headspace when you make each record, so hopefully they're all different. You just pick up things that you wish you hadn't done on the first one.
