One thing that I learned that helped me deal with human behavior is confrontation, and I'm not that great with confrontation at all. But once I started to be O.K. with that, the better everybody's life got.

I drink a few beers, and I've smoked a little pot. But I'm too health conscious to do it regularly. I run a lot. I don't smoke cigarettes. Pot is the hardest thing I've tried, really.

The title [of the album 'The Big Revival']alone fit what I was feeling. It defined what I was going through. That year off was a time to revive, to reset, to reclaim, to revitalize and to re-focus. It was a revival of how I made music, how I presented it and my connection with the fans.

In 21 years there are a lot of ups and downs. There are melancholy times. There are sad times. There are happy times. There are unsure times. There are life lessons.

It sounds like a cliche, but it... you do sing about what you know about. And I grew up in a small town, and I grew up in a place where your whole world revolved around friends, family, school, and church, and sports.

I can't see going onstage wearing a long-sleeve shirt in the dead of summer. I work out hard during the day with a trainer who monitors everything I put in my mouth when I'm on tour. When I first got a record deal, you can tell by my early album covers that working out wasn't that much a part of my life.

I truly believe that music is the most powerful thing we have.