I still play solo shows. And some of those shows are still some of the best, most gratifying shows.

This might be a controversial thing to suggest, but in a quest to understand and relate to terrorism or school shootings, sometimes it feels like it's real, the appeal. As we've seen with ISIS, it's not always the devout who are getting into it; it's just people looking for a sense of belonging. The more they feel they're up against, the more intensity the cause has. It's an epic clash of cultures, and both sides are playing that up, but it's human beings disaffected, detached, and lonely.

I don't write poetry and then strum some chords and then fit the words on top of the chords.

I just pay attention to what's in my head. That's my number-one rule.

Sometimes I just think we're not meant to fly halfway around the world in a day. That some kind of mutation is going to happen.

Honestly, I didn't have the patience for biology or history in an academic sense, but I always liked the kind of big questions.

I'm into lately being a little less precious about writing and being like, "Okay, what if I just locked myself in my room, pretend that there's someone outside with a gun that's saying, 'Don't come out until you write something.'"