You think back to Tele players, and James Burton was the one who started it all. He inspired Roy Nichols (guitar for Merle Haggard & the Strangers), Don Rich (guitar for Buck Owens & the Buckaroos), and guys like that to push the envelope and expand on that sound... I really identify with that kind of thinking ... those guys to me are the reason why any of us do this.

Well one thing's for sure.. all you really need is love.

I don't stare at a sheet of paper and try to think of a good word to use. I try to see where the story should go.

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.

Unless you're a true prodigy, you're going to have to practice for a while being bad before you get any good. And it will seem like a waste of time. I remember that feeling well. But don't worry about wasting time, because it'll be so worth it. It's my experience that in the end, life lessons and guitar lessons begin to blur in all sorts of interesting ways.

When a single mom goes out on a date with somebody new. It always winds up feeling more like a job interview.

This is real, this is your life in a song...this is country music.