As an artist, you have to maintain focus and eliminate the distraction of second-guessing yourself based on the opinions of others.

I don't really drink, but I've been around a lot of drinking and, at 18, when you start playing in bars, you start to witness the good, the bad and the ugly of alcohol as a source of escape. I wrote about it because I witnessed its use as a means of medicating - a lot of people using it to medicate themselves from hurt.

However you arrive at the ability to ignore self-doubt - if you can acquire it or possess it or find it or discover it - move beyond self-doubt.

Another lesson about a naive fool who came to Babylon, and found out that the pie don't taste so sweet.

Country music originates with the colloquial, rural aspects of white America. It's really, truly, rural white America's blues.

[My grandfather -a miner] had black lung, and he didn't talk about it much. It's almost like a combat veteran. But he witnessed some horrific things.

I don't regret any of the musical decisions I have made.