As a new artist - I don't care who you talk to - I think everyone would agree, it's hard to get your expectations right.

Yes, I did lock myself in my room for about two years and write some songs and things like that. But I don't feel like I missed out on a whole lot.

All I knew when I moved to Nashville was that I wanted to make music in whatever shape and form I could.

I don't believe in making a record and rushing it.

I am, by nature, a guitar player... I learned all of these other instruments around that, and around the theory that I built learning the guitar.

My mom makes the best Cajun stuff. I'm a big gumbo guy. I've lost a lot of my Louisiana accent, so now when I say 'gumbo,' I feel like someone who's never said the word before.

I hope people half my age and twice my age will listen to my music - I want it to live forever and for my audience to feel like they have a friend in my music. Music is a spirit. It heals. It's an amazing thing to be loved and appreciated, and sometimes, music has not just been my best friend, it's been my only friend.