With the style of music that I do, I don't think it's at the top of their agenda to push me into doing any compromising material.
I've been getting into different gospel artists; Aretha Franklin is someone I've been listening to a lot of.
I think in the future I will end up doing a gospel album.
I think it's like everything you do is just a reflection of who you are as an artist.
I think I'm more influenced, just in general, not by blues artists, but more by stuff from Curtis Mayfield, Stevie Wonder. Stevie Wonder is probably my biggest musical influence of all. And Donny Hathaway.
My dad was good friends with the Bad Medicine Blues Band - one of the only blues bands in Fargo, as you can imagine! He took me out to see them play when I was 12 years old and I was really inspired by their guitar player, Ted Larsen.
I'm not a fast, stream-of-consciousness lyricist at all - I know some guys who are, and if there is one skill I wish I had, it's that.
Apparently, there's this whole set of disgruntled people but obviously it's not my intention to offend anyone by changing the style of music that I've done.
Yeah, touring can get rough some times and draining, but I always have to pinch myself and realize that I'm doing what I love.
I have an awesome church home and an awesome Pastor down in L.A., and I couldn't be happier.
I've probably gone a month or two without playing guitar, just because I've gotten so burnt on it touring all year or whatever.
During a big rock show, you can flub a few things and nobody will hear it, because it gets buried under everything else.
I see a lot of parents now who are really supporting their kids playing music.
I really enjoy what I do and have been fortunate to pursue basically whatever I'm feeling at the time.
Yeah, but Jesus is the most important thing to me and I want to be bold about it.
You know, being able to, in my mind, have a song that you know doesn't really have any loose ends or you know, extra fat in it, so to speak.
When you get just that right audience and just that right sound on stage and you can just sit back and kinda just let it happen and it's not really any work. I love those moments. Nothing can beat that for me.
Well, I got married about two and a half years ago, and that's been a big change in my life.
Some of my influences are black gospel artists so I definitely want to do a soul-gospel type thing.
Right now I really enjoy writing songs.
My passion is for playing music and although everyone needs a break sometimes just to keep things interesting and fresh, there's no way I would ever give that up.
Well, people who are blues purist types are usually the most vocal and the ones that pop up on the websites.
My parents had a huge pile of records - vinyl! - that I loved, especially the Motown stuff, Steely Dan, Stevie Wonder, Otis Redding.
My dad used to play drums in a country band, and my mom is an incredible singer.
Probably my favorite artists to listen to James Taylor, Stevie Wonder - I haven't gone back in a really long time and really listened to them - my first guitar influences. It's been awhile since I revisited that.
