There is an idea that at some point in your career, you 'make it.' I understand the theory of 'making it.' I don't exactly think that it's the best way to look at it.

I never thought we were a country band in the first place. I think we've gotten ourselves into a place where we don't underestimate our listeners and what potential there is for the music they've heard all their lives.

It's always hard for me to put the pieces together when listening to a finished album that I was a part of writing and playing. There are so many memories wrapped up in each note and each song that it's hard not to constantly flash back to what made that musical event happen while listening.

Writing children's books all started out as a way for me to give back and make a difference.

Kids who are poor often have families that have not really been kept informed about... how important it is to read to your child, to reduce stresses in their life, to use positive incentives and words.

When I was a little boy, there were a lot of children with physical problems in my hometown, and my parents used to work with them, and I learned a lot about that. Since I was a child, helping out, doing what I can, was something that fulfilled me.

What I wish is that people would look beyond the tribbles and see I've written some other books that I really would like people to notice. There's 'The Man Who Folded Himself,' there's 'The Martian Child,' which is about my son and the adoption. There's 'The War Against The Chtorr,' which is my magnum opus, my great epic story.

It shouldn't be just the rich and the powerful that send their children to schools where there is armed security. Parents shouldn't be holding their breath because there's no security in schools they're sending their children to.