Gary Allan

“Life ain't always beautiful, but it's a beautiful ride.”

“When all your stuff gets smashed, everybody gives you new stuff. And when you've been playing the same guitar since you were like 12, that's a lot like dancing with somebody else's wife.”

“We sat around and I fed them barbecue and whiskey. And pretty soon everyone started to compete with each other on the guitars. It seemed the more everyone drank and ate, the more everyone got into it.”

“Sometimes if a song hits me really good the first time, I get sick of it. And by the 10th time I've heard it, it's just candy, and I don't like it anymore.”

“I try to write relevant songs about life and whatever I'm going through and whatever people are going through.”

“I'm really private, and also, when I'm home, I'm home. I don't like people in on my business. I believe that you can be overexposed.”

“When you take other people's opinions, you end up flailing and you have no center.”

“Country was about character. Country's changed because of monsters like Clear Channel who bought up all the stations and sliced them up into formats. Our demographic is now the soccer mom.”

“I've always said I've wanted to be around forever. I never wanted to be the latest, greatest thing. I want to be like Willie Nelson - touring when I'm 70. To do that, you can't be the latest, greatest thing because those things fizzle out.”

“I am so anti-people's opinions when I'm making a record, but when it's finished and I put it out there, I hope somebody likes it.”

“I think the real problem is that nobody buys albums anymore, so you don't get the depth of the artists that are out today. What you get is whatever they felt is politically correct to get on there and actually make some impact. I think that's where you're losing your depth. You're only getting the very top of everything. It really bothers me.”

“Shoot, there's a committee to tell you everything at a record label. You definitely have to know who you are if you want to look like you at the end of the process. We've all seen people get record contracts, and by the time they're spit out by the machine, we don't even recognize them.”

“I love the intimacy of venues like the House of Blues. When everyone is packed in and so close to you, it makes you play differently. It's so much more fun to play because there's so much more high energy in a place like that.”

“If you come on my property, I've got you from the second that you enter on. There's little lasers... my TVs come on in my room and fall just right on you. So, there's no way to sneak up on me. And I've got a loud dog.”

“Everything about the music industry takes away from you as an artist. They're always wondering what the next thing is: 'What do you have?' It's a very introverted process.”

“It's always performing for me. I write and I record so I can perform. It all ties to that. I've done it since I was a little kid. That's my absolute rush, is playing for different people every night, bringing something else to the table they've never seen.”

“I think you need to do something new to keep reinventing yourself.”

“My whole back's tattooed. I just wanted a twist. I was always in punk bands when I was little... I think that's where the tie comes from.”

“Anytime something starts to feel like a popularity contest or not about the music, I'd rather just not be involved. I'm not a big high-fiver. That really gets to people around me when we have a No. 1 or something big happen. I'm not a big, 'Let's go have a party about it!'”

“My goal is to hit the gym every day I'm on vacation. Usually I just end up sleeping and drinking beer.”