My dad started teaching me how to play guitar when I was 13 years old. When he'd go to work, he'd map out guitar cords on a piece of notebook paper. I'd sit down and look at it every day and practice while he was gone.

I had an opportunity to play baseball in college, but I just didn't want to go to school. I started focusing on my music and it was game over!

I try to record music that people can relate to.

Capricorn was one of the homes of the Southern rock movement with the Allman Brothers and Charlie Daniels and the Marshall Tucker Band. I don't think you can come from that area and not be influenced by that stuff a little bit, no matter what generation you grew up in.

I didn't get into music to become famous and I didn't get into music to become rich either - I got into because I liked it.

Country music artists are staying true to their roots, keeping it country but throwing a little bit of rock flair in there which I think is a good thing.

As a new artist, you come out, and there are so many other new artists. It seems like there's a whole wave of new artists that come along every year. In '05, I was part of the crop. It was a lot harder trying to set myself apart from the rest of the pack.