It's not hard to create a song, but to write a song that's really going affect somebody? That takes a hell of a lot of time.
I think that's what makes a great show: when the performers onstage aren't putting on a show, they're legitimately just having a freaking awesome time.
As an artist, you have an opportunity to get in and move things around in people.
Even a song like 'Give Love,' in my head, there's a question as I'm writing it, going, 'Is this cheesy? Is it too on the nose to say 'give love?''
I've been surfing several times, and I'm terrible at it. But what I found was that you're usually waiting on the board, hanging out, watching the waves come in. And one that you think is a big wave is not actually one.
One of my passions in life is to try to inspire people. I don't know if that sounds cheesy, but I genuinely love to do that.
A big part of my upbringing was being with an instrument and kind of figuring myself out through music. So I feel a strong desire in any way that I can to help do that for other kids.
Seriously, until I was 16 or 17, I didn't care about anything other than ESPN.
I don't really think in terms of goals.
The fact that people put on 'Honey, I'm Good' to get their day started - that's really sweet.
'The Good Parts' is me telling as much as I can of the deeper sides of myself that I haven't shared before. It's like an onion that gets deeper every time you cut it.
You have to do what you want to do, and I genuinely believe that if you start interacting in the world that way that there is a respect in that.
Everyone deals with temptation. It's just there.
Seeing what kinds of songs work in other cities and other parts of the world was pretty eye-opening. I know it changed how I approached the second record big-time.
A lot of the albums that I've been really into are like, 'Oh man. That doesn't make him look like a perfect human. That actually shows his warts and his scars, and for some reason, I'm super drawn to him now because he shared that or she shared that with me.'
I'm a big fan of talking about God. Whether people believe in God or not, that's so fascinating. Or where you go when you die is fascinating.
For me, it's always been about a mix of hip-hop, acoustic singer/songwriters, and piano rock. I pull all those together. Each song may lean more heavily on one than the other, but they all have all three pieces.
Whether it's a 16-year old girl, or a mom, or a guy, or anybody, as long as they come up and they're excited to meet me 'cause they've had some sort of relationship with something I've created, it's the coolest thing ever. It never gets old. It's awesome.
You can't have Thanksgiving and not just be like, 'All right, where's the football.' It's been branded very, very well. You can't have one without the other at this point.
There are pretty girls all over the place. But there are still a lot of people standing strong, doing their thing in loving relationships, actually staying true. I wanted to write an honest love song from that point of view.
It's a weird business. You're trying to write something that's built on magic, which is pretty stressful.
My dad is a children's singer. His name is Red Grammer. He's literally one of the happiest people on the planet.
I wrote my first single, 'Keep Your Head Up,' and that's what got me on the radio and helped me develop a whole base around the country.
I tend to be an all-in-type of guy, so I get in a zone to write, and then that's all I do. I'll spend eight hours doing nothing but chasing that one song. That's what works for me.
I'm from New York, so I'm simultaneously a snob and will also eat any pizza you put in front of me.
I feel like if you told me I would be having a son, I would be like, 'Yeah, I'm gonna be a parent - I get that.' But when the doctor was like, 'You're gonna have a girl,' I was like, 'What? Who am I?' It's the craziest piece of information that changes who you are. It's sweet.
Once you see the impact that you have on people, either at a meet and greet or after a show, you think, 'Oh man, they need to feel better today.'
Basketball was every day of my life. Wake up with a ball - sometimes I'd sleep with it because someone told me that was better for you.
I found that music was my favorite art form.
We've all got vices, and we're all freakin' trying.
I'm a singer-songwriter, but we get loud and we jump around. We have dance moves; we freak out. It's really fun, man!
You know when you hear a lyric and you can tell that the person means it? That is really hard; that is so much harder than it seems: to find the topics that you're passionate about and have it come across as like, 'Yeah, that guy needed to sing that song.'
You gain a level of fearlessness performing when no one's there to see you.
What's so wonderful about the street is it's organic music. No preservatives. There's no other reason to be out there except you just love music and want to play.
We always need little reminders that it's gonna be all good.
You either create something there on the street, or nothing happens. It's brutal. But if you go through that for two or three years, it really toughens you up.
For each person, they live their life and their truth and how it works for them, and that's just kind of how it works for me. I'm not good at doing whatever the other way is - it wouldn't work for me.
I love 'Seinfeld.'
That I even get to play a sold-out show where people know the words and I'm singing about things I'm connected to is such a blessing. It's the equivalent of a nine-year-old saying, 'I want to be an astronaut when I grow up,' and then getting to go to the moon.
One of my favorite things is to have a three-hour conversation over coffee with someone.
I don't know how to dance, and I don't have any extra flexible skills.
You get way better from playing to the passing public. You learn how to entertain. But it took me a good three years out on the promenade to figure that out. You also learn what makes them stop dead in their tracks and what doesn't.
I am happy to join AutoNation in the fight against cancer. This disease hits close to home for me with the loss of my mom in 2009. Raising awareness and finding a cure is really important to me.
Sure, yes, there are smoking-hot girls. But my girlfriend's smoking hot, my wife, whatever.
From losing my mom, I'll never be okay; I'll never be put together again.
'Dancing With the Stars' was fun, and it opened me up to dancing.
I think that you just understand, as any creative person, that there's a beast that you have to beat, and it never goes away. I've resigned myself to that, and it's kind of what keeps you going. Writing is the worst and the best.
When I hear an interview that I've done, and I've said 'like' a bunch of times, it just cheapens the sentiment.
'Honey, I'm Good' is a song about temptation, and we wanted to show what is possible if you can beat it.
