My album was recorded in Nashville. It used to be all about "We're from Texas, forget Nashville," well you'll never hear me say that. Nashville isn't bad as long as you're true to yourself.

All I can focus on right now is playing that record as best we can each night on stage, and that every article or radio spot that I do gives the best depiction of what we're trying to say with this record. The next door will open when it's time to open, and hopefully I'll be lead into the right one.

I try not to keep my head in the clouds .

Obviously the way that I talk and the way that I dress all has to do with the way that I was raised. As far as the drive, when I was 18 or 21 years old, everything I did was because I wanted to go play music simply because that's what I wanted to do.

I have a conscience, man, and I've worked really hard to keep it where you would feel like you were talking to the same man at one of my shows or sitting down at my dinner table.

I don't know about one moment that has pivoted my career. I do know that one thing that hit me and made me take a few steps back was a year at Steamboat.

Pushing myself against my own will really, because some of this stuff is hard. I don't consider myself to be a great guitar player, so pushing myself as a guitar player or pushing myself as a singer, as a performer, and just riding that fine line between being so hard on yourself that it's counter-productive and being so hard on yourself that nothing is ever good enough is what drives me.