He has written songs for artists who are household names in country music, from Lee Brice to Randy Houser to Luke Bryan, Jamey Johnson, Faith Hill, Megan Moroney, and more. Already this year, a song called “6 Months Later” that he co-wrote with Moroney went to number 1. In 2014, he was named SESAC Songwriter of the Year. Six years later he co-founded the independent record label Pump House Records with longtime friend Lee Brice. In 2023 he co-founded Entersong Entertainment with longtime friend Jerrod Niemann. And he is one of the founders of the Las Vegas Songwriters Festival, which comes up this August at Mandalay Bay Resort and Casino on “The Strip.”
“Most of us have spent years and years and years in a writers room where we're two or three people sitting on two couches and a coffee table. So, that's the norm. On a few lucky days you have an environment where it's a beautiful day and you're like, ‘Why are we inside?’ So, you just go sit in a couple of lawn chairs around the pool.”
“(Cross City, Florida) is the definition of small towns. I still make a living writing about those people in that place. I still have a farm there. I'm still very active and a part of that community. I love it there.”
“I didn't start music till I was 18, starting (at) the University of Florida.”
“Paul Rogers asked me if I would be part of his band because of the songs, he was trying to get a record deal in Nashville… for probably three years I was with that band Thursday, Friday, Saturday somewhere in Florida… and we eventually came to Nashville.”
“I met Jerrod (Niemann), that kind of really lit the fuse for me. I went back to Florida, loaded all of my stuff into a gooseneck cattle trailer, quit college just before graduating, and moved to Nashville.”
“Within my first year in Nashville I was living with Jerrod Niemann. I was running around with Jamey Johnson and Randy Houser and Lee Brice and Dallas Davidson, and we were all making music together and those guys are who taught me the music business.”
“Once I got a taste of it, I could smell the songwriters and the talent and the artists. I just wanted to learn how to do that. So, I just wanted to be around songwriters all the time. Show me how you do it; how do you walk, how do they talk, how do they act, how do they play.”
“It's a lot to learn by being in Nashville and going and watching these writers play. They’ll show you the tricks.”
“The grind never stops… you'll write one good song and think, ‘Man I got this.’ The next song is terrible and you're like, ‘Oh, I’m the worst writer ever.’ So, that doesn't change whether you've been doing it 25 years or you’re brand new.”
“I still write every day. I do all of my meetings from 8 to 11. I write from eight to three. I’m booked every day. No, I never stop writing. The fuel to all the other (projects) is the writing.”
“The biggest mistake? Not writing enough songs. Nobody gets worse at this. Everybody gets better, every song you write.”
“People don't like to hear no. Well, we hear it for years and years and years, 99.99% of the time. So, you either get used to that and understand that that's just part of the battle and use it to make you better or you quit and go home.”
“Any way to get your music in front of people is a platform. You use your platform how you want. So, just be very careful how you use it, it’s powerful.”
“I Don’t Dance” (Lee Brice)
“Goodnight Kiss” (Randy Houser)