If you never give up and you strive hard and focus on every move like a chess game, you will make it. I believe that wholeheartedly.
— Coy Bowles
I love coming back home and seeing old friends and family. I would say it keeps me grounded.
Duane Allman might be my favorite guitar player ever. I'd say I'm influenced by the Allman Brothers more than any other band. When I taught guitar lessons for a living, the students that were interested in soloing had to learn the intro to 'It's Not My Cross to Bear' first thing.
I firmly believe if you start something, you should finish it.
I love kids, and I think I would be a great dad. I had great parents, and my mother and father are my best friends, so I'd have good examples to lead from.
I basically am the only musician in my family. My aunt plays a little piano, but that's about it. My dad's mother painted and was actually good at it. I do not come from a long line of musicians, though.
I live a life of creating, sharing music with wonderful musicians that I love like family, and spreading a message through music that life is yours to live wide open, and do it your way with love.
I've really learned a lot from Zac Brown over the years. He is someone that I consider to be one of my best friends, and besides my parents, he has taught me more than anyone else. Zac is, by nature, a giving and understanding person.
I try as hard as I can to push myself. I try to create as much as I can. I try to grow on a daily basis.
I've tried very hard to stay grounded with my family, my ol' buddies, nature, music, and creativity.
When I try to be funny, it always makes me more nervous that I'm trying too hard, and then my brain that already thinks too much jumps into hyper drive, and I light-speed start talking 'Star Trek' to someone who's talking 'Star Wars.' Anyway, it doesn't work out usually when I 'try' to be funny.
I can't think of anything more important than a kid being sick and making them laugh and making that whole experience a little easier.
We pride ourselves on being great songwriters.
We're able to play different genres and be very specific in sounding like we know what we're doing.
I made a promise to be as creative as I could, even outside of music.
I never thought we were a country band in the first place. I think we've gotten ourselves into a place where we don't underestimate our listeners and what potential there is for the music they've heard all their lives.
Once you start getting into giving back, it gets addictive.
I believe 99% of success is never giving up.
It's so hard to listen to an album you created and without remembering where you were when you wrote it or referencing the the recording experience.
One of my favorite guitar players and musicians is a guy named Jimmy Herring.
If the people that love you are the people at your side on your last day, and there's not a soul in that room that has any bad words to say about you, well, I'd say Heaven awaits you, my friend.
My mother is very good at sewing and makes wonderful quilts.
If you feel like you have no other option in life but to follow your musical path, then do it. If you are talented and focus all your energy on becoming better and furthering your career and never give up, something will happen. I'm not sure what will happen, but it is guaranteed that you will do more than if you didn't do all that.
It's always hard for me to put the pieces together when listening to a finished album that I was a part of writing and playing. There are so many memories wrapped up in each note and each song that it's hard not to constantly flash back to what made that musical event happen while listening.
God Bless my mother and father for all the hard work they've done for our family.
I'm grateful for being able to explore different avenues of my writing, whether it be music or stories, and it have an audience.
I was raised on nothing but love and support.
Writing children's books all started out as a way for me to give back and make a difference.
The 'Will Powers' story is like my life to a certain degree.
The coolest thing for me to do was listen to Pearl Jam's 'Ten,' Nirvana's 'Nevermind,' or Soundgarden and play along to it and think about how awesome it would be to be in one of those bands and be up on stage. When I'd close my eyes at 13 and dream of being in Pearl Jam or one of those bands, it was exactly like how it is now with the band I'm in.
The recipe to our success is that you have a bunch of different guys who listen to a lot of different music.
It's kind of a Catch-22. The more successful you get, the less normal you get.
I like music that not only has a pop melody to it but is also deeply about something.
Just to be part of the history of the Hollywood Bowl - so many people have played there; at least, all of my heroes have.
My mom used to cut out articles from the 'Atlanta Journal Constitution' when I was in high school. She would either give them to me to read or she would post them on the fridge. These articles would usually be stories of someone inventing something, breaking records, or achieving some kind of success.
My dad has seen and done a lot. He comes from the hippie era where music and living life to the fullest is more important than stability and playing by the rules.
I've always been the type of person that thinks, 'If someone else can do it, so can I.'
I've never been much to believe that my Creator will judge me or anyone at their final days. I don't really know if I believe in going to Heaven or Hell.
My father is a very skilled carpenter. He can do just about anything with his hands. He is very artistic with his carpentry.
There is an idea that at some point in your career, you 'make it.' I understand the theory of 'making it.' I don't exactly think that it's the best way to look at it.
Sometimes I have a little social anxiety, and meeting people can be a challenge for me.
I grew up as an only child, so inherently, most of my life was centered around me. My parents taught me to play well with others and to share my toys, but I was still an only child who didn't have to share my parent's attention with siblings. As great as my childhood was, I always wanted brothers and sisters.
I'm just grateful. I'm grateful for my family, my wife, and our health. I'm grateful to be in a band of brothers that I love so, so, so much. I'm grateful that this magical combination of dudes makes music that people like and moves them.
My dad is basically my best friend. I'm that dude's spitting image and couldn't be more proud of that. They just don't come any better than my dad.
I don't usually suggest going into something you cannot do, but sometimes you gotta jump in and land on your feet.
Pearl Jam's 'Alive' is the reason I started to play music.
If they keep playing us on country radio and we get to keep doing cool stuff like playing with Willie Nelson, that's great.
Whether there's 100 people or 100,000, we bring our 'A' game every single time. We're full-speed on stage. We kick the audience's butt.
We try not to think that our listeners are one-track-minded people with the music they listen to.
We are all big Motown fans.
