When I go into a room to write, it's like I'm not trying to say, 'I need to write a song that sounds like Eric Church or Jason Aldean.' I just try to get the best song that's in the room that day. Whatever style or sound that may be, I'm not afraid to attack it at that angle.
There's an authenticity in just being who you are and not having an act about it or wear clothes you normally wouldn't wear. I'm just comfortable in my own skin.
My tour manager, I met him at Boot Barn. He was selling me a pair of boots... and he said, 'I moved to Nashville to be a tour manager, and I need work right now,' and I said, 'Man, I don't even have a tour manager. So you can tour-manage me.'
Both of my grandfathers were in the service. It's one of those things that you can't be thankful enough for.
I didn't even know what a tour manager was, but I was the tour manager, booking agent, all that stuff for almost two years without knowing it. I wasn't overwhelmed, because I enjoyed doing it.
It's a good pair of jeans and a pair of boots that are comfortable and a T-shirt; that's as far as I go. Getting wild with it might be a nice jacket, but I'm not a high-fashion guy for sure.
Anytime that me and the guys go out on the road, it's fun to step away from the craziness of what it is we do. I just enjoy that time being outside with my buddies.
When I picked up guitar, it wasn't like, 'OK, I'm going to be Kenny Chesney.' It was like, 'I want to play a chord,' and then it was like, 'I want to play another one, then play a song, then sing while playing the song.'
I knew I was a good singer - I've been singing my whole life, so I was comfortable enough with that - I felt like I could compensate with not being great on guitar.
Write what you want to write, write what people want to hear, and write about what they're going through, because if you could connect with the people who are listening to your music and coming to your concerts and coming to your meet and greets, then you're doing your job well.
The coolest Christmas present I've ever received is probably socks. My grandma always gets me socks - every year - and that's something that I've probably never bought for myself. If Christmas wasn't around and my grandma didn't get me socks, I wouldn't own any, probably.
I've played for a lot of tough crowds.
I think the crowds in Europe are songwriter crowds. Like, they are a fan of the words, and they're there to listen. An American crowd, they're there to get rowdy, man. And I love both.
I've been singing my entire life. The guitar came to me later on down the road.
I drove to Nashville a few times, met with some people and hung out, went to the Opry, and that kind of stuff. I made the decision - you've got to be present to win, so I packed it up and moved out here, and it's been great. It's been the best decision I ever made.
I'm a student of Eric Church, and I say that a lot... I was drawn to it because of the honesty and because it's got rough edges on it. He doesn't shy away from anything, and that's the way I wanted to be.
I don't want to put myself in any kind of a box as far as my sound goes, because being an artist is fluid. If you look at a painter's work, a lot of times, it's similar in style, but other times - over even a year's period - it can change so much. I'm just going with the flow.
I could play a gig on the moon and not be nervous about it.
I'm a horrendous golfer, though I do enjoy it.
I think I never had this grandiose dream of being any country music star. I just slowly progressed into that's what I'm doing.
