I did a song with Willie [Nelson] and some stuff with [Eagles guitarist] Joe Walsh.
In the middle of that, I got with Jeff [Trott], my oldest songwriting buddy.
We wrote three songs one day, and they were awesome!
Credit: Mark Seliger
Im tooting my own horn.
We called [producer] Tchad [Blake].
He flew in from Wales, and we did the whole thing in under a month.
The three of you had previously written hits such as Everyday Is a Winding Road.
What was it like getting back to work with them?It felt like a return to being kids.
Weve all come back together after nine lives.
Ive got little ones.
Also, theres something liberating to not thinking about radio or about what youre saying.
Were at an age where its like, We can say whatever we want!
One big theme onBe Myselfis our relationship with social media.
Are you a fan of sites like Facebook?Im in conflict with it.
When you first broke out, iPhones werent around.
Now every concert is a sea of screens.
Has witnessing that transition been hard?For a while, it ruined it for me.
But we havent been out [performing] in a while.
Im looking forward to it.
Do they join in for jam sessions?They brought their buddies and hung around the studio one day.
So they sang on this song called Roller Skate.
[Laughs] They made their first session free!
So I decided to record stuff thats already been written with people who have been influences.
I called Keith [Richards] and said I wanted to record The Worst.
I called Stevie Nicks and Don Henley, Willie, and Emmylou Harris.
It will be out next year.
Then it became commercially successful, and suddenly youre chasing the next single.
But at the end of the day, I feel the same way.
I want my music to be based in truth and authenticity.
Outside of that, its out of my control.
