If I get an idea for a song, I have a melody for it. I'm a musician first. I'm not limited by the fretboard.
I'm always trying to think of things we haven't done.
We're trying to do the thing you don't expect out of country music. Which is to say, 'Go see the world.'
I don't like being surrounded by yes men.
No one needs to recut 'He Stopped Loving Her Today.'
I'm sick of feeling like we're in a decline. Let's look at the good.
I changed my mindset and figured, Why not try to be really entertaining instrumentally?
To be a true artist, I have to be true to who I am now and write that way.
I love any and all situations where you celebrate creativity.
I like to look at the songs like they're little movies.
Our business has changed so much. Do people even want albums, or do they just buy singles now? You sort of feel like you're the last guy manufacturing VCRs... but I really like albums, and so I like doing them. I'll be the last one making them, even when no one's buying them.
My dad was president of the volunteer fire department, which was within walking distance to our house. I spent several days of each week there with him - any time the whistle blew, he went. It was truly inspiring to watch him lead that way.
It just gets easier in that you become more you in the process.
I don't have the answers. But I am asking the questions, and that's the fun part. I'm like the kid in class with his hand up, going, 'Um...' I think that's a powerful place to create from.
Even in your darkest moments, you'll think of something that'll crack you up.
In the past, I tried to be more of a typical session guitarist. I wasn't so concerned with impressing anybody.
I don't have, you know, an 'overcoming addiction' story, other than the guitar itself, and I haven't overcome that. I don't have a jail time, you know, story, or any arrests.
I've been ripping the Rolling Stones off with every song I write in some form or another.
My first tweet was at the CMT Awards when I won an award and typed, 'Thank you.' Then I was hooked because the followers started multiplying. It's a great tool.
The hardest part about writing any song is, what do you write? And how do I rewrite things? You start to run out of ideas that feel fresh.
Everybody goes through a period where you're fighting a lot, I think. Sometimes that can be a good thing for your relationship. That conflict can lead to making up.
It's hard to be judgmental once you've been around the world... it's pretty hard to be anything but understanding, and I think it's good for everybody to get out and see someplace other than where you grew up.
When I got married, I hired a great choir - the St. James Choir, an all-black gospel choir - to sing at my wedding.
I'm going to obviously do my best as a father to set a good example for my children, and I want them to see good examples from our leaders.
You shouldn't listen to my music for political messages.
I have a to-do list and I have a farm I care for, and things I like to do for fun - going to movies and all that stuff. It's a painfully normal life!
I imagine there's a market for total depression. I grew up on George Jones and that really dark stuff.
I've always been able to laugh at myself.
When you're a creative person, there are just times when you're not listening. You know, I could be looking right at you and thinking about something else.
I defuse everything I can with it. Humor is such a great shield.
I take his talent and his passion with me - to the stage of the Opry, to the podium at the CMA Awards, to 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue, into my own living room. I am the realization of my grandfather's dream. I am a player.
The Stones were a big influence on me and the Beatles, obviously.
I don't like to look back. I love the next challenge and don't keep awards. There are a few that are really important, but my parents have most of them.
I try to be careful how much I sing about the suburban house or whatever.
When you discuss racism, it's almost a no-win scenario - but I don't think that means we shouldn't be discussing it.
I still cherish relationships that I made early on as much as anything in my life.