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.

I think that was kind of always my goal: get people to come back and see a show twice and then see it a third time. And now I've got people who have been to 30, 40 shows.

I do gravitate towards the sad songs because I find them to be more of a challenge for me from a writing perspective. There are things about those songs that do touch people in a way that a fun song can't.

Both of my grandfathers were in the service. It's one of those things that you can't be thankful enough for.