I kind of doubt 14-year-old girls are downloading or buying Barry Manilow. But a 45-year-old woman who may not have been aware that this album existed is running out any buying it.

It's kind of like the old Barry Sanders Rule. The first person to him wouldn't take a shot at him. First person to him would break down in front of him and try to mirror him to give everybody else a chance. You weren't gonna tackle him by yourself.

Last year was kind of a down year for us. We weren't out there for 200 dates last year, like usual. Don [Herron, the band's fiddle, pedal-steel and mandolin master] was off playing with Bob Dylan, Shaw was spending most of his time in Arizona, and I was in Nashville writing songs and doing my own thing.

Without a doubt, I think there's always a chance of me relieving. But the way I see it, it's kind of the same. I just go out there on the mound and do my thing.

Presidential campaign getting kind of ugly, did you hear about this? Yesterday, a 27- year-old woman came forward to deny rumors that she had an affair with Democratic front- runner John Kerry. The woman added, "I would never cheat on Bill Clinton.

The (girls) meet was never in doubt.