I consider myself a songwriter before anything else. The fact that I have been able to write both of my records and establishing myself as a songwriter is super-important to me. Some people have that gift, where they can take on anything and make people believe it. I like to do a song from personal experience.
"Country" has become a marketing term. I see myself as a songwriter.
Writing for somebody else is really fun 'cause I consider myself a songwriter first and foremost.
I guess if I'd have more of a producer attitude, maybe I'd sell more records. But I'm basically a songwriter.
Well, my main instrument is violin, but I think of myself as a songwriter who happens to play violin.
'Marvin Gaye' came about my first day in L.A. It was kind of crazy that that's my first song that I wrote and it blew up that much. What's crazy is the next day I wrote 'See You Again,' so that's pretty interesting. I was trying to prove myself as a songwriter.
I'm an American songwriter, and I write from a very American perspective, and so did the records I grew up listening to.
You have to face the fact that I have no reputation as a composer; I have my reputation as a songwriter and a performer-and that opportunity came this summer, when I was invited to perform at the Lincoln Centre festival in New York... three nights.
I never saw myself as the classic singer/songwriter who sticks to his guitar.
One of my goals from really early on was that if I was ever fortunate enough to be successful in music, I would want to stay the same person and the same songwriter.
Whenever I fill out the job description I put 'songwriter', never 'singer' or 'artist.' Singers come and go.
My theory is this; I'm not a political songwriter. I'm an honest songwriter.
It is setting goals and trying to be a business person, but at the same time not losing sight of who you are writing songs for and what your goals are as a songwriter. So believe me, if you think I've got it down I don't it is a constant struggle.
The thing is, I'm not a prolific songwriter.
I'm not a children's songwriter. I'm not in that world.
I'm not a natural songwriter.
The back story of a songwriter isn't important to me - I don't listen to music needing to know who the guy is.
I think the biggest thing, for me, was just to be recognized as a songwriter.
One of the greatest tools you have as a songwriter is anonymity. If someone knows too much about the songwriter, they don't get to insert their own characters. I don't want the audience thinking about the gay guy who wrote the song.
