The music is something I've always done and always loved but always really kept for myself. Something I do for me.

I grew up in Maryland on the East Coast - you know, close to D.C. but sort of in the suburban, rural area - and Nashville felt very, very homey to me.

In terms of exploring an identity in the country music world, what I realized very quickly was that there are people who have been performing country music since they were kids. It's very much a part of who they are; very much that jazz and blues are a part of who I am, because I grew up listening to and playing that kind of music.

CNT was a good fit for 'Nashville,' and 'Nashville' was a great fit for CNT, and so timing was right. You know, they're investing more in scripted television - the show brought a lot of more eyeballs to CNT, eyeballs that are interested in country music - so, I mean, it couldn't have been a better fit.

Let's be honest - it's hard for me to get more sexy, but I'm giving it a go.

This is going to sound ridiculous, but I read in an interview with Lil Wayne that he recorded a mixtape of something like 50 straight minutes of him rapping all of his material because he felt like he could never move on to the next phase of his musical exploration if he didn't get it down on tape.

I'm somebody who values anonymity - not just in terms of not wanting people to recognize me or wanting my privacy, but I value anonymity in conversation.

I lived in a little shack in Santa Monica, and I was working on 'The O.C.' and when it started airing, I took my laundry down to the laundromat like I always had, and so many people along the two blocks I walked and in the laundromat stopped me and asked me for photographs.

It wasn't until I became involved with 'Nashville' that I thought I had opportunities to record my music in a way that I would want to put it out into the world.

I've often been described more than once in my life as very much like a golden retriever: just sort of happy and excited to do whatever it is, even if it's as simple as retrieving a ball and bringing it back ad nauseum.