I think most of the time when people have big disagreements and big misunderstandings, when time lessens that blow it creates a deeper understanding for both people.

I like down-to-earth people.

Country artists have advantages all over the place. The radio support is incredible. The fanbase is rabid, all over.

I'm not afraid to be bluntly honest in my songs, even if it means I'm discovering things about myself that I'd rather not.

It's wrong to become a bully yourself or to take it out on other people, and in my case, I just retreated to a place where I was safe. And that place was my imagination, books, and television.

Egon Schiele is my favorite painter. There's just something about art - photography, painting, music, plays - whatever you see, sometimes there's a gut reaction that's more important or more visceral than what your brain is thinking about. You can't explain that reaction. It's like what happens when you fall in love.

Human beings thrive on imagination and pushing boundaries and limitations. Imposing limits when we don't actually have any true idea of what's possible is like imposing a steel trap over the mind.

When it came to political power, blacks need not apply. Add to this steaming stew the growing tensions over the Vietnam War and the movement for civil rights, and you had plenty of elements to fire the imagination of a novice journalist.