Musician

The people who are competing business-wise out there want what other successful labels and artists have. I don't want what they have; I want my own path, my own sound, my own identity. Record labels...

There's been a lot of really cool stuff that's happened to me throughout my career, and I remember everything, but I don't think I savored every moment of it like I should have or like I do now.

I've certainly had to bite my tongue on occasion and live to fight another day, so to speak, on certain things. But when you're new and fresh, you come out and think, 'I don't want to screw my chance...

The risks are 'How country can you go?' rather than 'How rock can you take it?'

I think it is a huge honor to get to go play for the troops who have been working their tails off for several years, some with several tours under their belt.

If one artist sells five million albums, the tendency is for other artists to say, 'Maybe I should do a little of that, too.' That can be tough to resist.

You have to believe that things can be bigger than what you see in front of you in order to move forward.

When you find great songs, and somehow you get a spark in a little way, it can become brand new.

For me, I wanted somebody that got me musically, that understood that I'm an artist and this is who I am. I'm not going to be like another artist on your label, probably - hopefully. I found all those...

Winning the ACM, winning the CMA, my first time on the Opry and having Grammy nominations were all a big deal to me.