When you go to the Opry for a show or hear it on the radio, you get the whole circle of country music.

I think if you sing a song for the first time to your mom and dad, or your friends, and they go, 'That's pretty cool'-if you're playing at the local bar somewhere, or the coffee shop, singing songs, or if you have a gig somewhere and you're singing your own songs, I think that's some version of making it. ... It's not just about having commercial success; it's about having a great life.

I mean, the last thing I want to do is be involved in politics.

As a songwriter, you might write every day and throughout the course of a year you might get four songs that are really special.

I also was a huge 'Dukes of Hazzard' fan. I used to have T-shirts that said 'Dierks of Hazzard' custom-made.

That's what I love about Nashville and the music community - seeing kids around acoustic music and bluegrass picking parties is the best.

Country music has always been the best shrink that 15 bucks can buy.