I'm a terrible Scrabble player.

It's not set in stone. I like to keep it rolling and changing, and so I am like, "Great, I get to remake my song."

Sometimes the word dictated the melody.

I still kind of believe this absurd line that if you have to write it down, it's not worth remembering.

The first notes I still play when I start a sound check are classical. Those are my roots.

I think jazz was just seeking respect and validity because a lot of people didn't believe it was a viable art form, and then they got a lot of attention in Europe. A lot of bands that can't catch flies in the US have these followings in Europe, [but] it's less and less the case. American audiences are way more sophisticated and adventurous than anyone thinks that they are.

I'm coming from a place that's more experimental and indulgent already, so for the last 10 years, it's been more like, "How can I defend my own sensibilities by writing a nugget of a little catchy pop song?" That's how I'm stretching myself, by writing something really simple.