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.

... there are a lot of shredders in country music - Redd Volkaert, Brent Mason, Dan Huff .. and guys like that

Even on the most serious ballads, I'll throw in a tongue-in-cheek remark.

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.

You can't kill it with goodbye; It always finds a place to hide inside your heart for your whole life. Love is never-ending.

If you're really on top, you probably didn't do that great, 'cause you have to water it down a bit for it to get that mass appeal

In the past, I tried to be more of a typical session guitarist. I wasn't so concerned with impressing anybody.