Q & A: At 51, Vince Gill still inspired by the music

IDS: Why did you decide to branch out as a solo artist?

Vince Gill: I wanted to develop as a songwriter and just was always drawn to artists who wrote their own songs, and I always wanted to be one of those. I enjoyed everything, but I also wanted to be a songwriter who wrote his own songs.

IDS: What is it like being married to another artist (Amy Grant)?

Gill: It has really been quite a blessing to share and have a common knowledge or common ground that we both know what you deal with. You have to travel and all that goes into having a career, so there’s never any issues of “Why do you have to leave again?” There’s an understanding of what it is that we both do, and it’s easy on our relationship. It’s a great blessing to have somebody to bounce things off of musically, business-wise, in all kinds of decisions – somebody you’re sharing your life with that has many years in the business. It’s a great partnership.

IDS: What is your favorite performance to date?

Gill: Last year at the Ryman. I was on tour in Nashville with a 17-piece band. It is a sacred place for me musically with all that’s gone on there. ... The music caught fire those nights. The kind of thing that you dream of – great crowd, great sound, great band. There have been many occasions where everything clicked, and you feel like you’re walking on air sometimes.

IDS: How do you manage to keep your life private, yet still be successful as an artist?

Gill: As a songwriter, I don’t think my popularity as an artist is what it was 10, 15 years ago, and it’s going to have valleys, it’s going to peak. I have just embraced whatever it was that came down the road, and I have never run from being popular. In the most popular of days, I just tried to be normal more than anything. That was my goal, was to not let anything good or bad in my career change who I was. And I think I have stayed the same guy as a musician, and I still play, and I’m grateful for whoever shows up.

IDS: What advice do you have for aspiring artists?

Gill: Be really patient. Our culture has gotten more and more of a mind-set of entitlement, and there’s a lot of people that just want everything now. Good luck is created by a lot of hard work. There’s not a magic fix, one thing that you can flip the switch, and you’re the biggest thing since Elvis. More than anything, especially in this business, you have to be gracious. There are so many people you deal with, so many egos, so much arrogance. ... If you believe in yourself, you’ll be willing to let go of the results. I do what I can do to the best of my ability – whether it sells 20 million records or 20 records.

IDS: Has winning Grammys and CMA awards and being inducted into the Country Music Hall of Fame affected your lifestyle or career?

Gill: I didn’t set out to accomplish this and win this and that. That’s the result of hard work and hopefully a result of a good job at what I was trying to do. I never set goals. I was motivated at getting better at what I was doing. Even now at 51, I was inducted into the Hall of Fame, and that inspired me in a new way. I wanted to prove I was worthy of that and that I can go earn it from what I do this point forward.