“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.”

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.

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.

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.

There’s a tipping point that happens with soccer in which you just kinda get it. I was drawn to it because the best soccer teams play similarly to my favorite basketball teams .

It’s kinda all about image.

I’ve been around a while. I kinda know these things.

I’m always the person who’s taking everyone else’s kid and putting them on my hip, so I’ve kinda always been a mama.

There are two kinds of comics; there are the ones who build bridges, and then there are the people who walk across the bridges as though they built them. The bridge builders are few and far between.

I signed a very modest $3,000 bonus with the Braves in Milwaukee. And my old man didn’t have that kinda money to put out.

It’s kinda cool to be a little bit of both, I think.

I’ve recorded 25 or 30 albums. I know that sometimes when you work with producers who are kinda dictators, it doesn’t help you make a better record.