I was a horrible student! It just sort of evolved as I started playing. I guess I became a master of it when I declared myself a wordsmith or a... word-play guy. As soon as I declared it and started that affirmation, I just became it.
Sometimes touring can warp reality because you're never in one place long enough to get a feel for it. You don't interact with people long enough to know what real life is. That's why a lot of artists write songs about longing and missing people when they're on the road. I do my best to keep my mind open and I read a lot when I'm on tour, so I hope I have good things to write about. I'm constantly in the songwriting process.
My touring isn't about collecting souvenirs and always being on the go. My souvenirs are writing in my journal and creating new music, because that fits easily into my backpack when I'm travelling around the world. It's something that I can share later with fans or with future family members.
I love surfing and bodysurfing. I love getting slammed by the waves - that makes me feel alive. The waves are a good reminder that I'm small and fragile.
I love getting a smile out of my girlfriend - that makes me feel like I'm seen, or heard.
There's nothing more vulnerable than just standing in front of a thousand people, or ten thousand people, and doing your best to entertain them, touch them in some way.
I know that if I do the right amount of, say, meditation and hot yoga or something, I can move the energy through my body and get rid of my cold within twenty-four hours.
If I'm having relentless thoughts, I just won't shut up in my head. I know that if I put myself on the mat and just focus on a flow that I will transmute or I will transform, transfer the energy into some other act or put my attention somewhere else, I'll be back. I'll feel stronger not only in my body but most certainly in my brain.
Whenever there's a camera in my face, that's when I feel vulnerable, and then it turns into a little bit of being self-conscious, which I think is the worst kind of vulnerability.
I love eating healthy and doing the yoga thing, because I think I'm going to live to a thousand doing so. And that's because I don't want to leave here so soon. I want to stick around as long as I can, but I know that's not going to be the case. We're all going.
What I get on a yoga mat, and from a yoga teacher, has been more beneficial onstage than any other workshop I've ever done.
The internet is awesome and responsible for my success.
Free downloads is something that I like to do its just not as publicised and it is the future of music.
The studio and road both have their charms. The studio allows me to be a mad scientist and the tour lets me feel like James Bond.
As things grew for me I felt like I was losing myself and wanted to stay true to myself as well. I didn't want to lose any connection I had with the audience. I felt small on a big stage and I felt like I was peaking generically to an audience.
I love the feeling of putting my feet back on the sand after I've been out in the ocean for a while. I love that. I guess the adrenaline calms down when the sense of balance returns in a really grounded way.
When I look back at what musical theatre music and show music meant to me, first of all - more than anything - what it meant to me was work. As I was growing up, I realized that singing and performing was my strong suit.
How we treat food is how we treat ourselves. Eating and buying organic means we're committed to a healthier world overall. It's good karma.
One thing I'm most passionate about is that I'm geared up and ready for another cycle of touring, to go out in the world and be whoever I need to be for someone. For a lot of people they just want to see you or want to take a photograph of that moment. Some people they simply just want to hear you. And others actually have things they want to share and talk with you about.
The power of the masses can influence any government in the world. The power of the masses can elect an official, start a revolution, and drive history. Nelson Mandela did it alone from his prison cell. Ghandi did it lying down. Egypt did it singing songs.
It may be a hundred-year battle to turn around our industries and finally get everyone living on sustainable energy with technology that can keep our lives comfortable. If that's the case, the first 20 years of the shift have actually done a lot to support that. But there's still a long way to go, and judging by the state of the environment, we don't have that kind of time.
To create an album of love, I really had - I thought it was going to be easy, because I've always written love songs. But I thought if I really want to make a love album that contributes, that actually means something, I've got to go deep.
To create an album of 12 songs, I've got to write about 80 songs. Half of those are totally weird and rubbish.
One thing I'm most passionate about is that I'm geared up and ready for another cycle of touring, to go out in the world and be whoever I need to be for someone.
I can't predict what songs will do to the collective consciousness.