When you ask a songwriter, "What's your favorite song?" he goes, "The next one."

I made records in the past that are as traditional as any other country records that have been made, but at the same time the records have a contemporary slant on it too.

You learn a whole lot more about a person if they have bad breaks and all those kind of things.

The real amazing thing about all of this is I think I've maintained the mentality of a musician throughout it all, which I'm proudest of. And I'm still playing on people's records and singing on people's records.

I'm a musician, so for the most part I've always thought that the musicians were equally as inspiring to listen to - maybe more so, in some cases - in addition to the artists.

I've never been in the studio where it felt like I didn't have a voice. Whether I was co-producing or producing by myself, this community is the one place where I really see democracy at its purest.

I am not struggling. What I do, it is what I do.