On Monday, April 5, 2010, I had the distinct privilege of interviewing Award winning country music artist Bryan White after seeing him perform with Victoria Shaw and Gary Burr at New York City's legendary jazz club Birdland as part of Jim Caruso's Broadway at Birdland series.

Right before I interviewed him, Bryan took the time to meet with fans, take pictures, and sign cds. Gracious, personable, and down to earth, Bryan White is proud of his success, but hasn't forgotten where he came from.

Bryan just released his eighth studio album entitled Dustbowl Dreams and is currently touring the country. For tour dates and more, connect with Bryan below.

In this interview, Bryan answered my call to share:

• His inspirations
• Proudest moment
• Favorite way to spend his day off
• Who he would like to dream about
• His heroes
• So much more

Connect with Bryan: Website, Facebook

Bryan White and Adam Rothenberg at Birdland Jazz, April 5, 2010

1. Who inspired you to become a performer? First, I'd have to say my parents because they were musicians and they were the first people I saw performing music. The guy that made me want to be a recording artist and make records and do all of this was a guy named Steve Wariner. Steve is just a tremendous artist, singer, and songwriter. I heard his voice and I said to myself that's exactly what I want to do. If it weren't for Steve's music and talent, I wouldn't be here.

2. Who is the one person you haven't worked with that you would like to? I've been so fortunate to work with so many people already over my career, but I'd love to work with Bonnie Raitt sometime. I think she's an tremendous talent. I'd love to sit in the same room with Dolly and write a song with her. I'd also love to work with Michael McDonald, Carrie Underwood or James Taylor.

3. What's your proudest moment? When I saw my children being born, that was my proudest moment. That's when I realized life is so much bigger than me and us. Being a dad is about as good as it gets.

4. What's the best advice you've given someone, but not taken for yourself? That's a great question, 'cause it makes me think. I tell a lot of singers that they need to warm up and don't drink a lot of caffeine and try to drink a lot of water. I try to stay adamant with staying hydrated and warm up a 1/2 hour before a show, but I'm not always real diligent about it.

Bryan White, Photo Courtesy of Bryan White Social Media

5. If you could dream about anyone while you sleep, who would it be? My granddad. My granddad was my hero. He passed away about 5 years ago and that was very difficult for me. Sometimes he's in my dream and I wake up and I realize it was just a dream and I think man what a bummer cause it was cool to see him. It was like we were hanging. I would also like to dream that I was in heaven hanging with God.

6. Favorite ride at an amusement park? I love wooden roller coasters because their fun, their fast, and their scary, but they give the impression like their gonna fall apart at anytime because you hear the wood and the clacking and all the noise and it sort of adds to the illusion of the fear.

7. Favorite way to stay in shape? Walking definitely not running. I hate running. I like basketball too because it's faking you out by thinking you are not working out, but really you are.

8. Boxers or Briefs? Briefs most of the time, but I have two pairs of boxers and on occasion when it's really hot outside, I'll wear boxers.

9. Favorite website? I tend to go to Twitter almost every time I go online. I like Twitter from my phone, but I really like it from my laptop better because it's faster. Sometimes I'll get into a conversation with a fan and that is really fun for me.

I love going to Wikipedia because if I think of some big celebrity that I've always wondered about and wanted to know where they are from, I'll go to Wikipedia to find out. I'm big into where people are from. That's typically how all my conversations with people start because I've been so many places I can usually bring up something about their hometown and engage them in conversation.

10. Transformers or Gobots? Transformers. I don't remember buying Gobots.

BONUS QUESTIONS:

11. Favorite way to spend your day off? I love to laugh and hang with friends or have a bbq in the backyard with all my favorite people. I also love recreational stuff outside, especially on a boat. I'm an avid fisherman and I don't get to do it as much because of my schedule, but I'm getting ready to go Wyoming and I'm really excited because there might be an opportunity for me to go fly fishing. There is just something about being outside where I can see a long ways and think and reflect. I'm a songwriter so I typically think better and most of my ideas come when I'm out in the wilderness.

12. Out of everyone you've worked with, who did you learn the most from? That's a tough one because I took something from everyone, but I would have to go back to Steve Wariner. He's been not only a mentor in respect to the artistry but also in respect to the business side of the industry. He's given me some of the most priceless advice in terms of staying in there and fighting through.

I've learned a lot from being on the road with Vince Gill and Mark Miller from Sawyer Brown. There are a lot of real people in the industry and you just hope that you are directed to those people. When you find them, you just try to hang on to them because they're really blessings.

13. Who do you consider to be your hero? My granddad. Like many of our grandparents, he comes from a whole different generation. It's a generation where people really worked for their living and they didn't know what sitting around meant or they didn't know what it meant to surf the web and kind of veg out. Veg out was not a term back then and I respect that about him. He got up every morning and he was a hard worker and he enjoyed his work and he enjoyed his family even more. I know now, looking back, why he worked so hard because every ounce of energy he put into his work was for all his kids and all for his family and he loved people. So I think everyday when I do things or when I meet people or working, I try to think about how he approached life and I try to apply what I learned from him to my life as well. I want to leave that same kind of legacy one day.

More on Bryan White:

Since the age of 14, Bryan White has been entertaining audiences. He's won a Grammy award, CMA Horizon Award, ACM Top Male Vocalist Award, had six #1 singles, two platinum records, two gold records and joined forces with Shania Twain for "From This Moment On" which they took to #4 on Billboard's Hot 100 Chart. Bryan just released his 8th studio album, Dustbowl Dreams.