"First of all, this is about guitar," Brad Paisley told Jon Stewart on 'The Daily Show' in a Thursday interview about his new book. Paisley said his memoir-like manuscript, 'Diary of a Player' (not to be pronounced "playa"), is meant to inspire.

"I figure we have done such a great job of teaching kids how not to play the guitar with 'Guitar Hero,'" he pointed out with a laugh. "And then, on top of that, in this country we're doing a fantastic job of teaching them how not to read as well, so this kills two birds with one stone."

Though he's not a proponent of the trickle down effect of a certain plastic guitar-slinging video game, Paisley does speak about his own guitar heroes in his book, not the least of whom is his grandfather, who gave him his first guitar and became his first teacher. And while he classifies certain people as "guitar superheroes," he says he considers himself to be more of a Batman since he's human.

In the interview -- which can be seen in full here -- Paisley detailed his early start on the radio show 'Wheeling Jamboree' with country greats and his time as an intern at ASCAP, and he talked about gearing up to host the CMA Awards with Carrie Underwood for their fourth consecutive year. Thinking back on his childhood, he said he's taken to heart some advice his father gave him when he was a young boy still winning people over with his charm: "You don’t have to be good right now, and that’s great, but someday you’re not gonna be that cute.’”

 

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