“I didn’t even write the lyrics down. I got in the booth, I put down a little guitar riff and the idea I had was it was going to be really simple, I just want it to be all about the lyrics and I just literally sang the lyrics.”

We want to give kids something to hope for. If one kid says, “Your cd helped get me through this year,” that’s all it takes.

3 years ago I was stocking shelves at Target, living on Ramen noodles, and crashing at Billy’s house. Now I’m on tour

In music industry they always want you to write something like the one that was popular. And that’s something you kind of have to just – sometimes you just say yes to people, like, “Yeah, yeah, yeah, sure,” and then you just write the one you want to write.

I need a little criticism while I make a record so that I kind of feel like: okay, I know that I’m doing the best that I can do because someone is actually here challenging it.

Things have changed. I almost feel like it’s more adaptable, and you can decide your own career now. I feel artists have so much more of a voice and so much more power now. It’s really inspiring to see how a lot of the young artists use their platforms.

Start enjoying the things you like about yourself, and if there are things you want to change, either get to work on it or get over it.

A lot of bands don’t really like each other. I read an Interpol interview the other day, it was a really good interview because it was showing a different aspect of a band.

I got a little tattoo on my face, I’ll never be able to work another real job so I consider that to be kinda forcing myself to stick to music.

The whole time you’re bouncing ideas off each other, you continue to try and push the songs as far as you can take them and make them the best that they can be.

I hope my allergies don’t act up

All the best songs are, I think, the easiest write because they just come out.

There are some people i’d take a bullet for, and some people i’d like to put a bullet in.

Be sincere. Be simple in words, manners, and gestures. Amuse as well as instruct.

I still don’t like the word agnostic. It’s too fancy. I’m simply not a believer. But, as simple as this notion is, it confuses some people.

I am surprised to see that today everything that does not amount to surrender pure and simple to generalized capitalism.

To many, the solution seems simple enough: such a change being impossible, the art of the novel is dying.

As I often say, we have come a long way from the days of slavery, but in 2014, discrimination and inequality still saturate our society in modern ways.

The new product, if it’s going to be successful, is going to require a new name. New ladder, new name. It’s as simple as that.

When a really new product comes along, it’s almost always a mistake to hang a well-known name on it.

Keep it simple, when you get too complex you forget the obvious.