I was very inspired by my mother. She was a vocal teacher and sang in a band, and my first memories of her were going out with her on the local circuit.
I was just like a 21st century person waiting to be born, and this is the medium that I thrive in. And I feel stronger now than I did any time since I’ve been a teenager – I mean, musically, creatively.
I’m in the trenches; I do the best work I can always do. Having said that, the way that what I do converges with the outside world is fascinating to me. Because it ebbs and flows. People’s interest and understanding, it changes all the time.
The difference between me and other people in my generation is instead of saying the Internet’s killing the record business, I say, ‘Who cares about the record business, the Internet is enhancing music.
I definitely dislike pomposity and artifice. I hope that I’m not that. Once I write a song, it belongs to the world, and the way people perceive it, it’s cool.
I returned to upstate NY where I just laid in bed for days with a fever that just wouldn’t go away. After more of this, I grew increasingly sure that this was not simply the flu!
Everybody who I ever cared about has told me that they like my music: Bob Dylan, Paul McCartney, Al Green, The Spinners, Smokey Robinson. Everybody that matters.
