I have a love of gear and pedals, from old pedals to new ones with new sounds. If I get depressed, I start looking for a certain type of pedal, learn the history, who and what it was made for, that kinda thing.

I've never left for New York. I've stood my ground here my whole career and hopefully will be able to until the day that I die.

One of the reasons I sing so much about smoking or drinking isn't about the addiction, but more so that I'm trying to let people have a good time at my shows and forget their problems. Relax and enjoy. There's not certain religions or politics sold on them. Just come out, have a beer, have a laugh, good energy from stage and have a good time.

Maybe one day the old guys will die off and things will change, 'cuz it's officially getting scary over here in America.

Balance is always tough with the kind of shows and my work ethic and all of that, but that definitely helps me do what I do in the big picture.

It's a lot harder to keep your cool than it is to lose it. That's on any work ethic. Even if you're a big producer on a movie set, or whatever, it's a lot harder to be a pro than be a baby on your crew. That's one work ethic to keep in mind, as one bad apple could give five people a bad day, when that one person could've stepped up their own efforts a little more and not bring anyone else down.

The best pay off in the world is when someone comes up to you and says, 'your music has helped me with some pretty rough times through life. I don't know if I would still be here if it was for your music whether it be country music or heavy metal has done for me.' That's ultimately the biggest payoff for me. I hear it from young kids to military guys and military women to older folks.