No, as an artist, you have to be free to explore all the corners of your heart. There are no boundaries.

And I'm the biggest country fan there is, but I'm always a little cautious of a slower song or just a song with subject matter.

You cant write about stuff you dont know about. You have to live it. You have to roll up your sleeves and get your hands dirty. Live life to be a good songwriter.

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

I'm always looking for things that make me kind of uncomfortable.

But as far as being an American and loving this country and getting a chance to travel across it every day and meeting people on the road and folks in the military, I love this country on so many different levels.

I like big shows, a lot of volume and a lot of energy. I love electric instruments. But I do love mixing those with bluegrass instruments and cranking those up, too, with a little bit of that rock energy.