My dream was to go to Nashville. I had my sights set on my dream. I used to have an '89 Toyota Ford truck. On the front of the truck, I had this license plate with cowboy boots and a guitar that I had airbrushed at Wal-Mart. It said 'Chasin' A Dream.' That was kind of my motto.

I haven't always been the guy that walks into a room and automatically the attention is on me. I'm normally the guy that stands off in the corner.

I've found throughout the years that I needed a place where I can go with no TV, no computer, no phone and just have no distractions and just be able to sit and think and just not be disturbed.

I'm not much of a water skier, my legs are too skinny for that, so I just try to tube and have fun, just ride.

My manager came up with the idea of taking a Pro Tool rig out on the road to record every night and I thought it was a great idea. I felt like it would be good to record over a certain period of time and then take the best performances of that collection of recordings. It appealed to me that it wasn't going to be from just one location.

I love Tennessee, but they don't have the pine trees and the sandy soil and the black water that I grew up around.

I came from a rural background, and I didn't come in contact with a lot of wealthy people.