I can only write songs when somebody gives me some water to swim in. Otherwise, I'm a fish on the beach.
I'm trying to figure out how to record at home because I have a tiny house and a seven-year-old and my wife also works at home. So I can't work in the house because she's trying to write, so I pitched a tent in the backyard. I'm literally trying to record in the tent.
I usually always think of characters and sometimes the characters are a little bit invented, so it's nice to give these invented, blurry, personas an actually name. It makes me get closer to them or something like that. But they're not all real, they're weird amalgamations of reality.
I actually don't go to shows anymore. Rock concerts have lost their appeal for me.
Trying to make it and get people to respect your band, being a cool band-all of that stuff-I think we've arrived at a place where we have kids and everything is in perspective and it doesn't matter.
I can never turn a tour into a vacation.
I have pit bulls barking at me on half of the love songs.
I'm going to keep drinking on stage. I have a pretty healthy relationship with alcohol. I know how far to go and when to stop.
Once you do have a child you want to talk about every detail of it. And it is really boring to all your friends and it should be.
Somehow, you realize you can kind of do anything in music. You don't have to be good at a certain thing; you can just do whatever you want.
When you realize that the baby's healthy and born, it's a release and you're so happy.
The last thing you want to do is write songs about being in a band.
I've never had so much fun being back at my job sitting in front of my computer. Compared to 10 months on the road, going home and sleeping in my own bed every night is really nice.
I'd say recording and playing on stage are two completely different things. Being up in front of all people is like jumping off a cliff into icy water. The recording process is a totally different energy.
It's not hard to connect with the music on an emotional level and get inside the songs. It's odd, very vulnerable, and slightly embarrassing to be standing and singing and playing music in front of a bunch of strangers.
Getting on stage and performing and standing under lights is such an unsettling experience - in a good and bad way - but it's the only place I can go to feel comfortable.
A different drumbeat or some vocal overdub could completely transform the song.
I'm doing a little freelance work, and I think everybody's trying to take their minds off rock and roll for a little while and get some perspective.
