“Blind Willie Johnson is a pretty big vocal influence. He can be very harsh, like gargly, gruff vocals, but also just slip into some very delicate, vulnerable soft stuff. I like that combination.”

Ive been making music since I was 14, but for a while, I was afraid to perform.

I realized that the reason why my head was so cluttered and why I was so unstable and not taking care of myself, all of these things, was that I was unhappy. If I wanted to get to a happier place and find some kind of peace,

I dont think I ever wanted to be a journalist – I was more interested in what comes from being a journalist.

I hope that I can make music that helps people in some way or that they can connect with, and that I can just live a life where I’m surrounded by people that I love.

It’s not enough to have good intentions. If you want to be a good person, you have to make good decisions all the time and live a life that’s worth living and that you can be proud of, and that’s what I wanted.

Life is short, so I am one of those people – and luckily my girlfriend is too – who wants to live everywhere. I don’t know how long I’ll be there, but I like it right now.

You have to have some kind of clarity or understanding of what’s happening to write.

I was just a music lover who wondered what it would sound like if Otis Redding strapped on a guitar and played in a punk band. Thats it.

I was going to have to address problems with myself, things from my life up until that point that I hadn’t dealt with: insecurities, fears, and those kinds of things.

Even when I interviewed bands, it was about asking them about writing songs, so it was more for me than anybody else.

I think everybody that grows up in Florida, you’ve got a little chip on your shoulder. It’s not as bad as people think it is, but it’s pretty bad. When you go to other places you’re just like, “Oh, god. What was that about?”

You will never have the answers, but you have to keep pushing yourself and keep reading and keep working on yourself.

Whatever you may look like, marry a man your own age – as your beauty fades, so will his eyesight.

I will say that if my wildest dreams come true, I will, like, wake up one day, and I will be Carol Dweck, right? Because she is like everything I want to be.

There is a rhythm to the ending of a marriage just like the rhythm of a courtship, only backward.

It’s hard to enjoy practical jokes when your whole life feels like one.

As a child I wanted to be a grown-up. I wanted to know everything – not that I like to talk about it. I hate intellectual conversation with intellectuals because I only care about my opinion.

Music has always been a big part of my life. It’s kind of like a refuge for me. I just use it to get away.

I like to watch the way a model moves in my clothes, the way she gives them life, or if they are wrong, stillborn, the way her life rejects them.

I think I started doing covers when I was… what, like 9 or 10?