And to any new fans we made along the way, I say... welcome to our party. It's just starting to get going.
As a songwriter, there's nothing better than winning Song Of The Year. But I couldn't really celebrate, because it wasn't right. Luther wasn't standing next to me, to receive the award.
But I'm just having fun playing and giving Botox injections to the older songs.
But more importantly, I think he remembered how very close I was with my own dad, who had died in 1997.
But once you have some success in one style, the business wants to lock you in that vein forever.
But when I recorded my own album, I realized how much I missed singing my own songs.
Creatively speaking, the past five or six years have been the most fun of my career.
Doing my own album provided me the opportunity to say whatever I wanted.
Even if the record is really successful, it's not going to change my future as a producer; if it means recording another record, great.
I am having fun being an artist, and I'm looking forward to touring with my band, and playing the new and old songs live.
I can't wait to front my band with these new songs and play for fans, but I've decided to keep my day job too.
I didn't want my last chapter to be the guy who sits at the piano and sings love songs.
I don't think I've ever laid out a batch of songs that pick myself apart the way that these do.
I don't think it is pressure but I am aware sometimes, especially on this new album, that people were going to really pay attention.
I fell off stage and bruised some ribs. The worst part was that the audience didn't realize I was gone.
I have complete freedom, and there's no way to get pigeonholed or bored. What could be better than that?
I love when people get songs wrong. I love when people take something from a song that's totally not what I intended!
I really didn't have any plans to record prior to doing My Own Best Enemy.
I really don't and I don't know how many years I've been making records, 17 years or whatever, I don't think I've ever picked a favourite.
I think I do better when things are a little tougher.
I think really what I'm saying is that I thrive on adversity.
I understand that, but this disc shows the type of music that I've always liked and wanted to make.
I'm happy, I would say that I'm one of the happiest people I know but I've certainly had periods of profound sadness, depression and heartache and those are the kind of things that are interesting to me to write about.
I'm more proud of these lyrics than I've been with any other album, but they can be a little uncomfortable for me to listen to.
I'm now so keenly aware that I have everything to prove and nothing to lose.
I've always loved groups like U2 and Coldplay.
I've never written a song that I thought was a hit.
I've never, ever in my life enjoyed playing live the way I am now.
In the past, there has always been so much pressure about carrying a show and promoting a record.
It never ceases to amaze me that I get to do this for a living.
It's funny; Luther and I have written many songs together, but we've never written songs in the same room.
My joke, which isn't really a joke, is that there will be one of two tours: the tour for the album that does well, or the tour for the album that stiffs.
One time Robert Plant was set to check into the same room after I checked out, so I removed every light bulb and ordered up a bunch of stinky cheese and put it under the mattress.
People are going to misinterpret some of these songs and I think that's kind of cool.
People take songs so literally.
So it was just a case of getting a bunch of songs that I had been writing for years but hadn't recorded together, and the result was My Own Best Enemy.
The only thing that's a little tricky about it is sometimes people assume that if it's a new song, it's a reflection of what you're feeling or going through now.
Ultimately it seems to do well for me, I seem to do better so instead of me being my own worst enemy, I'm my own best enemy I guess.
Whatever people exist who would actually look forward to a new album by me might be a little put off by this one.
When things are too easy I lose interest in them so I find ways to complicate them to get myself interested.
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