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

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 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?”

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.

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

Because it’s up to the journalist not only to understand what I’m trying to convey, but to convey that understanding through their process.

I don’t think there’s any question journalists have become targets, but then I think that – that anyone who tries to practice liberty becomes a target of fanatics.

I think if journalists start doing that then they won’t be practicing journalism. If satirists start doing that then they won’t be practicing satire.

My sense, and I’m sort of guessing, is that the journalists were being classified by the government as common criminals, and the political prisoners were so resistant to being that.

I don’t trust a lot of journalists.

If I allow journalists to describe a collection and they make mistakes, I’m upset, because the retractions are never noticed.

A statesman is an easy man, he tells his lies by rote. A journalist invents his lies, and rams them down your throat. So stay at home and drink your beer and let the neighbors vote.

My belief is that “recluse” is a code word generated by journalists; meaning, “doesn’t like to talk to reporters.”