I'm fond of online testimonials: people writing about their experiences with ghosts or drugs or bad boyfriends.

I often find things at thrift stores and library sales that I never could have been looking for. In those cases, the research is done after the fact to figure out what, exactly, I've found. It's surprising how much out there still has no online presence.

In art school, I started to see Pettibon in magazines, and I figured it out backward. I was into the idea that someone could show work in galleries while making album covers and photocopied books.

These days, I find it harder to listen to really trebly lo-fi recordings. At the same time, without the old limitations, these new technologies require self control. So much of the software seems to be about correcting imperfections - quantizing, Auto-tune - and, to me, those corrections can really drain the life out of a performance.

A lot of my friends have been collectors, and I owe a lot to them. I'm always interested in sharing collections and learning that way. I used to trade tapes a lot. I still have a few friends who I trade music with, but it's hard to find the time. I miss that.

I'm fond of online testimonials: people writing about their experiences with ghosts or drugs or bad boyfriends.

I think it's great that people now have access to Pro Tools and other recording software at home. I've never understood how anyone could be comfortable in a recording studio