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" Songwriters aren't always performers, and even performing songwriters aren't always the kind of show-biz performers you think they'd be. "

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" When I first was trying to play the clubs around Houston to start playing my own songs, songwriters like Eric Taylor and Vince Bell and Townes Van Zandt and Don Sanders were just really encouraging to me and would let me sit in with them during their sets and introduce me to the person that owned and booked the club. "

" I'm really in no danger of being perceived as a famous movie actor! "

" My music has always been sort of in between categories. Sometimes record stores - back when there were record stores - they'd put my records in the country music section, but other record stores would put my records in the pop or even the rock section. As long as it's in the store somewhere, I'm OK with it. "

" If someone gives you a belt buckle, it's like a piece of jewelry. It has the same sort of emotional significance. It would be something you would intend to keep forever. "

" I played guitar when I was young and never really considered it as a way to make a living. "

" My first performance was in second grade with my friend Rodney Fisher, and we worked up versions of 'Long Tall Texan' and 'I Want to Hold Your Hand.' It gave me a little early confidence that I could actually do this music thing. "

" Never guess a woman's age. Never guess a woman's weight. Never even talk about weight in front of a woman. And never, ever ask a woman when she's due. "

" Singing your own songs is all about individual expression. "

" Both my parents worked, so I was home alone a lot, and I would listen to their records. They belonged to the Columbia House record club, so they had records! "

" Records are very powerful promotional tools to go out and be able to play on the road, but you do have to think about it as a way of sustaining itself at some point. "

" The most important thing you can do as a performer is to be yourself, or be an onstage version of yourself. If you're not being true to yourself, and somebody likes that other version of you, you're kind of stuck. "

" Fortunately, I've never had a job. "

" You're saying something with your appearance whether you mean to or not, so you may as well mean to. "

" Dad often told me, 'My job is to help my boss do his job and make him look good.' That was my dad's objective. Everything about the way he conducted himself was to communicate support for his superiors and respect for his coworkers. The way he dressed was his starting point in that communication. "

" The first time I toured with the 'Large Band' in 1988, I got so tired. If I just stood still anywhere, I could go to sleep. I was that tired. But I had to perform. And I did, and after that tour, I was much less fretful about going out onstage. "

" Somehow you can tell the difference when a song is written just to get on the radio and when what someone does is their whole life. That comes through in Bob Dylan, Paul Simon, Willie Nelson. There is no separating their life from their music. "

" It's difficult to get started-when it comes to dealing with an unknown quantity, people are reluctant to trust their own opinion. It helps if two or three people give you a boost. "

" Wear what you want to wear. Do what you want to do. Be who you are. Pick out your own clothes. Be a man. And if that's too much to ask, as it almost always is for me, think of someone you consider to be a man and pretend to be like him. I pretend to be like my dad. "

" I enjoyed hearing people do their own songs. I became attracted to singer-songwriters. I became interested in them as people; was curious about what they wanted to say. "

" It's really a lot easier to write about things that are problematic. Who wants to hear how happy you are? "

" I don't feel like I'm on a mission. I'm trying to play music that I like to play and like to listen to. "

" I am limited by what I can think of to do-my choices are not so great. "

" I sort of cringe when I hear myself say the word 'work.' Getting to do something you love to do never really feels like work. "

" A woman comes to a table, and you're supposed to get up. Period. But I don't always do it. In general, you're supposed to do it every time. But sometimes you're seated against the wall, and it's awkward. "

" I've always thought that writing isn't really that hard. It's having a good idea that's hard. "

" One of my favorite things is when people will ask for a song that I hadn't planned to play. It is really fun to see if you can remember something, and you don't always. I mean, sometimes it's just crash and burn. "

" If you forget the words to your own song, you can always claim artistic license. Forget the words to the national anthem, and you're screwed. "

" My parents worked for Exxon, and they gave me every chance to take part in music. I took guitar lessons, and I was in the choir at school. "

" I've been lucky to be able to make the records I've wanted to make. The record company has never pressured me to cut certain songs. "

" I've always worked with people who have been supporters of me creatively. "