There are people in poverty who, if they have the gumption, say, "I'm leaving here. I'm gonna take three jobs and make it." There are definitely people who do that, and it shapes the rest of their life. And that's almost as unfortunate as someone who says, "Why bother? I'm not even gonna try." There are people consumed by that, and I've been affected by it. It's been a detriment for sure. It was ridiculous, and I don't want to see anyone go through that again. It makes me compassionate, and when I see it, it makes my shoulders tense up, and you remember it.

I've got a real love-hate thing with the saxophone. I've got to be careful.

We all know people who have worse fates. What do I have to complain about for Christ's sake? I have a beautiful wife and kids, and all this music, kids are paying my bills.

Anybody who's putting out records is probably not making money at it.

I actually like taking a mic and plugging it into an amp and giving it to a kid to see what they do, 'cause they flip out. They're way more in touch with their voices than we give them credit for.

As strange as it may sound, I think I'm a lot more at peace with the fact that you can't guarantee you're going to be all right [at] any time.

Obama administration has been the most narcotics-jailing administration ever. I just think it's so ironic and underhanded. It's so contrary to the consciousness and the feeling of the rest of the country. With a Democrat running things, it's still just the same things going on.