I try to write like the writers I admire - I rip them off in form. It comes from George Strait and Merle Haggard records, and country music in general is really good at that, the twisted phrase... So Im always looking for that angle in my own work.

I hope I'm at least half the dad that he didn't have to be.

When they say you're the best, I always remember that the majority of the audience probably thinks someone else should have gotten the award.

Can't wait to date a supermodel, can't wait to sue my Dad. Can't wait to wreck a Ferrari, on the way to rehab.

I'm aware of the fact that a lot of talented people out there will never get this chance.

The nice thing about the world that I've been able to inhabit for the last couple of years is that I'm given a lot of freedom. Not all artists really get that.

Pilgrims travel to Jerusalem to see the Holy Land, and the foundations of their faith. People go to Washington, D.C. to see the workings of government, and the foundation of our country. And fans flock to Nashville to see the foundation of country music, the Grand Ole Opry.