Oh, wow! [laughing] Now that you've said that, I recall the letter you wrote to your father inside the album booklet for Words. It alluded to the fact that he will live through you, with you being his presence on earth.
Some people, when they would look at me and my brother Joe, we look like our father. This is amazing because we are the only proof that he existed on this planet. My kids don't know my father. They never met him. I show them a picture, they don't know who that is. Me and my two brothers, we are the ones that are living proof that my father existed because we are a part of him. That's a very, very important thing. My father was a musician/singer, too. He just never did anything that got to a significant level where people noticed it. I don't think that was his desire to be that. He was also a painter. I do, too. It's my job as his son to be ten times better. I got to tell my own son, "Listen, you are going to be better than me. I'm great, but you're going to be greater than me. The reason why you're going to be greater than me is because I'm going to help you." That's our purpose; that's what we're supposed to do. I told my son, I told my daughter, "When you're older I'm still going to be helping you. That's my job. I'm supposed to get out there and do what I need to do to create more for you, not so you can stick around and take care of me."
As a father, with two daughters and a son, how has fatherhood impacted you, your music and the way you go about handling your career?
Fatherhood is interesting. My kids, they see me and I'm an interesting character for them. It's an interesting role, because I don't work a regular job. I play an instrument. When I had my first child, my daughter, I was inspired. Right at that moment, I said, "Wow. I'm responsible for this kid, contributing to the life of another human being." It was different than when I got married. It's interesting to see traces of yourself in someone else. That's an amazing thing. It is inspiring. The first song that I wrote was inspired by my daughter. I love it. I think it's a cool thing.
Speaking of inspiration, what is the inspiration behind the T-shaped figure that you have? It reminds me of Prince's symbol, but it's firmly linked to your identity. Whenever you see it, you definitely think Tony Rich. What's the meaning of the symbol?
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