If some event happens and it seems really important to me and moving to me, I'll write it down in my lyric book knowing that it will come out in a song.

It's important to have a voice; it's more important to use it.

But if you want to be a songwriter-based musician, whether you play punk or rock or country or jazz, whatever, you have to work on your songwriting and you have to work on being able to play in front of people, I think. That performance is how you create the groundwork for a lasting career.

When I'm writing, which is 8-9 months out of the year, I'm in a concerted writing pace, where I work 5 days a week for at least a few hours a day, maybe a little bit more. But I won't work for more than 2 hours at a time. I'll work for a couple hours and take a break.

Music is such a good way to resist. It keep you strong, it has dignity.

I grew up in the South and once you get raised on Jesus, it is kind of always a part of you even if you are a pagan, really.

Oh God, it's such a big world right now for artists. There are as many possibilities as you can have time for, getting your music out there with the internet, and Youtube, Vimeo, Facebook, and everything that you have, there is a way to spread the word. To me, the first thing you have to have is substance and content and real depth.