Everything has to work together or it doesn't work. If it's something the bass player plays that inspires me to play something off of it, or something the piano player plays, it's the same thing. I want every note to speak and have a purpose. I don't look at things like, 'You're the background singer and so you just stay in the background.' I look at music and I look at records and I create a process that's very democratic. Bekka shines as much as I do on that record. When being creative, you try to plug in people that do the things that not only enhance the record, but lets them shine too. It's soul music, and she's about as good as it gets. That song's very much steeped in an R&B kind of song.

She brings an energy and a different thing to a record than just about anybody I know, and I adore singing with her. She's just one of the most gifted voices I've ever heard. She's been in my band at different times, and I believe that she's one of the finest singers I've ever heard. VG: Well, I've been singing with Bekka for about fifteen years, off and on, on different records of mine. I hear it in my head, and it just comes out through my fingers. I try to play what I would sing, and I oftentimes try to sing what I might play. The guitar makes sounds just like your voice does. If I play something and there's nine notes in it, I go, 'Well, I wonder if I played seven notes if it would speak more?' It's just like a conversation. There is a melody to these songs, and oftentimes, when it comes time for somebody to play, they just are going to go play you a bunch of stuff, but where's the melody in there? So, I always have a sense of where the melody is and I dance around it.

To me, great guitar playing and great soloing and all those kinds of things are still centered somewhat around a melody. It has to have a beginning, it has to have a middle, and it has to have an end. I think, when it comes to guitar playing, it has to tell a story. That's very uninteresting to me and always has been. It's all about the holes you leave-it's not about playing as much as you can.

It's an interesting process, but I really believe that greatness is defined by the subtleties.

So, I come at it from maybe a little bit different of a place than most. So, I never had to always be front and center with the attention because I've always been a musician and I probably have much more of a mindset of a musician than a country music star or artist or whatever. When I was young, I think I probably aspired more to be someone who was a session musician that would be hired to play on records or get hired to sing on records, and then I'd develop into a songwriter who got better at it and hopefully people would think enough of my songs to record them. It's of equal importance to me to collaborate. I think I'm as proud of all the other people I've worked with on their records as I am of my own career. I think the reason I've done what I've done is because of my willingness to share-my willingness to be a collaborator with other people. I like doing the work, and then I like people responding to it, and I'm okay if they don't like it. It's almost uncomfortable, because I don't possess the personality that really tries to say, 'Hey, notice me!' I'm not a good self-promoter.

Maroon 5 stereo hearts acoustic