Dierks Bentley's Quotes

You can't write about stuff you don't know about. You have to live it. You have to roll up your sleeves and get your hands dirty. Live life to be a good songwriter.

And I'm the biggest country fan there is, but I'm always a little cautious of a slower song or just a song with subject matter.

And if I want to get involved in choosing sides, I usually pick hockey or football.

As a songwriter, you might write every day and throughout the course of a year you might get four songs that are really special.

I also was a huge 'Dukes of Hazzard' fan. I used to have T-shirts that said 'Dierks of Hazzard' custom-made.

I mean, the last thing I want to do is be involved in politics.

I try to make an album that reflects what I love about country music. It's not just all about happy parties all the time. There are some sad songs.

I'm a huge fan of Billy Idol. I spiked my hair every day like him in 7th and 8th grade.

I'm a member of the George Jones fan club, and I'm a member of U2's fan club.

No, as an artist, you have to be free to explore all the corners of your heart. There are no boundaries.

That's what I love about Nashville and the music community - seeing kids around acoustic music and bluegrass picking parties is the best.

When I was 13, I was just figuring out how to play 'Eruption,' poorly, by Eddie Van Halen.

When you go to the Opry for a show or hear it on the radio, you get the whole circle of country music.

But as far as being an American and loving this country and getting a chance to travel across it every day and meeting people on the road and folks in the military, I love this country on so many different levels.

Country music is always changing but the Opry is always there to serve as a lighthouse for what country music really is. The past, present and future is all encompassed by not only the physical structure of the building but also the radio show.

I always say the best applause you can get is when you walk from backstage up to your microphone at a concert. It's also nice to walk up to the mike at an awards show, and that applause is great, too, but the best is when your fans are cheering for you.

I like big shows, a lot of volume and a lot of energy. I love electric instruments. But I do love mixing those with bluegrass instruments and cranking those up, too, with a little bit of that rock energy.

I think the great country songs mixed with some of that bluegrass instrumentation - and surrounding all that with a little bit of a rock vibe and energy - is the kind of music I make.

I'm part of the party, getting the crowd fired up, singing songs, pouring drinks, whatever it takes to get them to have a good time. When I walk into the meet-and-greet, someone's always going to have a story, a sad story or a happy story.

My dad and grandpa were in the army and as a country singer you're constantly playing at military bases all across the country and meeting soldiers and their families and hearing their stories.