The vocals are the very last thing I do. So, it's kinda the opposite: with country. it's singing and guitar first, but with rock, I worry about the riff and music, vocals last.

Every year is different. I'm not getting any younger trying to keep it going. It's always a challenge. It's like a boxer going into a ring. You never can tell what's going to work and what's not going to work until you're in action and everything is going on around you. It's very intense and always a challenge and always a thrill.

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

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.

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.

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.