Click the bullet after each quote to visit the source.

Calamity always looms in a Martina McBride song, even — or especially — when the song sounds like it should be about shopping for shoes. ●
- – Writing for the Los Angeles Times, Mikael Wood finds the darker undertones in a Valentine’s Day performance by Martina McBride. And this wasn’t even one of the shows where she covered Danzig.

He was a man of integrity. All through his life, he based his decisions upon morality. I believe his music is an extension of that. ●
- – John Carter Cash on his dad’s legacy.

But, honestly, I mean, it’s going to happen. People are going to sell fake merchandise. People are going to scalp tickets. They’re going to do it forever. At least people are scalping your tickets — at least you’re worth that much. What I mean is, if people want to pay $500 as a scalped ticket for a seat up front and are there to rock out … well … oh, well! Sorry! (laughs) I just want them in the seats. ●
- – Miranda Lambert takes a laissez-faire attitude toward ticket scalping… and to heck with all the fans unable to get decent seats at decent prices as a result.

Q: How do you keep touring fresh?
A: Oh, it’s not fresh. It’s hell. You know, I’ve been doing this for a long time and back when I first started touring it was a lot of fun and everything. It still is a whole lot of fun, don’t get me wrong, but now when it starts coming time to get on the road I get a little stressed out. I wouldn’t trade it for anything. It’s what I do. It’s what – it’s my job so, you know, I get out there and I do it. ●
- – For one-man band Scott H. Biram, touring is a necessary evil.

It’s not for a lack of wanting to do good. I pretty much just suck honestly. I need to get better at it. ●
- – Justin Moore on making music. I mean, being thoughtful to his wife on Valentine’s Day.

I definitely thought I knew everything when Nickel Creek’s first record came out. I was 17 when we recorded it and 18 when it was released. That music… especially from the first two Nickel Creek records — it just sounds unbearably smug to me. The know-it-all kid in class… it’s hard for me to listen to it. ●
- – Chris Thile can’t stand much Nickel Creek.

When I reconnected with traditional country music I found myself, my calling. The kind that is timeless, beautiful, beyond trend, the empowering force, the reflection of a people and a culture. The kind of country music that the working man and scholars alike call home. ●
- – Marty Stuart, whose new album “Nashville, Volume 1: Tear the Woodpile Down” is scheduled for an April 24 release. And suddenly 2012 starts looking a lot better.

Now, Cee-Lo Green, Adam Levine and Blake Shelton have all agreed to return as well, all with substantial pay raises, according to two individuals close to the negotiations. They have arranged their schedules for a fall debut, which NBC is preparing to announce shortly.
The individuals said that Green, Levine and Shelton will see their pay roughly doubled to $6 million. ●
- – Blake Shelton will reportedly receive about $6 million for his participation in the next season of “The Voice.” By the way, ad space on Country California can be had for a mere $1 million. Think about it, Blake.

I’ve got an iPhone full of Maroon 5 songs now and I’m much more aware of artists and music others clearly were born knowing but I wasn’t. The show has affected my music by expanding the sounds I hear. It’s been good for me. ●
- – Besides setting him up pretty well financially, “The Voice” has introduced Blake Shelton to a whole new world of music. I see a Maroon 5 cover coming to country radio in the near future.

If a family goes to a show, they don’t want to spend $500. I wouldn’t go see Elvis for 500 bucks! ●
- – In trying to relate to the his fans, Jason Aldean suggests that he – a guy who makes thousands on an average touring night – wouldn’t give up $500 to bring Elvis Presley back to life. Really?

I got little or no bang, you know songs get heard on the radio forever but movies are like here and then they’re gone. They’re not re-currents. You heard the song today and then you hear it tomorrow and then ten years from now you’ll still hear it every once in a while, but you’ll hear it more than you’ll see that movie replay. There’s just not enough bang for my buck to waste that much time into a project. ●
- – Toby Keith isn’t interested in making any more movies. Luckily, I’m not interested in watching any more movies made by Toby Keith. Sounds like we’re finally on the same page.

I’m never going to have the moment where, ‘I’m a woman now, guys. I’m only going to write dark songs, and I’m going to dance in my bra all the time.’ That’s not really me. I hope things will gradually evolve into growing up as people naturally grow up. I find 22 is an age where a lot of times artists feel like they need to be like, ‘I’m a woman now guys,’ but I feel like it should happen naturally for me. ●
- – Taylor Swift on maturing gracefully in the music business.

So she kind of gave me an ultimatum, and said, ‘Hey, if we’re not engaged by this time, I’m moving to Atlanta.’ I kind of called her bluff, and then she said, ‘Then I’ll move to Chicago,’ and I called her bluff, and then it was Seattle … I was like, ‘Yeah, yeah,’ and then it was India. I was like, ‘India?! What? If you’re not gonna move to Atlanta, you’re certainly not gonna move to India.’ So she moved to India. ●
- – Jerrod Niemann chased a girlfriend far, far away.

I don’t give a damn about being famous, I just wanna sing country music. Does that make sense? [...] I don’t follow my career. I just f—king sing, you know? ●
- – Kellie Pickler goes rogue, dropping the F-bomb on a Taste of Country interviewer. High five.

Increasing consolidation in the radio world has put more power in fewer hands. Programming decisions for individual radio stations are increasingly set from remote corporate offices. Less consideration is given to the differences between stations, between markets and between the listeners of those stations. What works here may not work there. So, the broadcast decision-makers are usually demanding content they feel will work everywhere. That can make it difficult to be creative in what we deliver. ●
- – Capitol/EMI Records Nashville president Mike Dungan.

For those who criticize the ‘young guns’ in country music today, I would offer that, while it doesn’t sound like Buck or Merle, Buck and Merle didn’t sound like Roy Acuff, and Roy Acuff didn’t sound like Ernest Tubb. People need to get over the ‘what is country music’ crapola and cheer for the old guard and the new guard. That’s my deal. ●
- – Larry Gatlin thinks everyone should cheer for everyone else… which can only mean that he hasn’t heard Brantley Gilbert yet.

But sometimes in your life you can be outnumbered. You learn to be quiet about certain things that you think you’re supposed to be quiet about. For example, I remember distinctly being on a fifth-grade playground in California and someone asking me, ‘What kind of music do you listen to?’ Well, guess what I didn’t say? I didn’t say country music. I said Three Dog Night or Chicago or Elton John or whatever.
There is a point where you try to outrun your past sometimes. And then there comes a point where you turn back to it and become proud of your heritage, your culture, the foods you grew up on, the stories you were told, the people who told them, your church upbringing, your family and certainly your music. ●
- – Darrell Scott on coming full circle.

As far as you thinking I was ever some lover of country music, you just thought wrong. I’ve got a handful of country people I like, but I’ve always been very open about my musical preferences. I liked the Dixie Chicks. I didn’t know I had to sign on for everything country. Music’s subjective. There shouldn’t be rules. Different strokes for different folks. ●
- – Natalie Maines to fans on Twitter, after some took exception to her criticism of Jason Aldean’s Grammy performance with Kelly Clarkson.

Instead of making me quote the whole thing, just go take a gander at Johnny Cash’s to-do list.