Green says he wouldn't have done it any other way.
"If I hadn't had all of that it would have been walking in the door naked. They would have definitely been able to tell me who and what I was going to be," he says.
And making music the way he wanted was the right choice for him.
"I'm not one of those that could have been on 'American Idol' and pick up my wares and say 'I'm great and you should check me out,'" Green says. "I had to find out what was good for me to do, good for me to be around and that's how it happened - organically."
One of the emerging hits from the Dann Huff-produced "What I'm For" is "Footsteps of Our Fathers," which Green co-wrote with Brett James.
It took nearly two years before a line Green kept filed in his mind made its way into one of his songs, reflecting more on his role of as a father of two, ages 3 and 5, and a husband.
"What I believe is that great lines, great songs, great ideas don't leave. If they're great, they're always great," he says. "To that extent, if you forgot it, it wasn't worth remembering."
About Pat Green
Genre: vCountry
Hometown: Waco, Texas
Influences: Bruce Springsteen, Willie Nelson, Jerry Jeff Walker and Robert O'Keene
Upcoming show: Sunday, Aug. 16, Cancun Cantina West, 901 Dual Highway, Hagerstown. Doors open at 5 p.m. Cost is $15. Call 301-797-4422 for more informaiton.
Web: www.patgreen.com
Q&A with Pat Green
WEG: On "What I'm For," you have a lot of co-writers. Do you need others to help feed off of to create music?
GREEN: I'm the kind of guy who really gets lost in my own mind. I can really get off track pretty quickly. So that's why it's so important to keep me on point (he laughs) more than anything, and to explore other directions I hadn't thought of.
WEG: Many are referring to "What I'm For" as a more grown-up album for you. Why?
GREEN: Somewhere along the line you realize that being the life of the party isn't always the best thing. Being a father and doing all the things I've grown to love so much has really opened new doors and has opened a new place in my life. Musically speaking, I think I have a long way to go to find all the different things to be and to do. I guess in reality, this is another chapter.
WEG: How was it working with producer Dann Huff, who's worked with Keith Urban, Faith Hill and Rascal Flatts?
GREEN: Danny Huff is the best, there's no doubt. He's certainly has taught me more about what you can accomplish in a studio than any other producer I've ever worked with. He's so in tune and prepared to make the record. When you get there he's like "OK, this is what I want to do with this song," and "Here's what I want to do with that song," then you walk the line. If we have differing opinions, it's my song at the end of the day. He has a great preparedness that I haven't experienced in the past.
