Not everybody is going to like what I do or get what I do. With as much positive, you always get the negative to deal with. I get that as well. Most of the time, I'm very honored to have a fan base that they react to my songs. My songs speak to a lot of them.

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.

A one-night stand that waited three years to tell me I had a son. I needed cash flow fast, It was time to get into the business.

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.

My mom nor my father never pushed me into the music business. I always did it because I wanted to.

The rush of creating sounds and mixing sounds is always an interesting challenge, especially for someone like me, who doesn't know about sound.

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.