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

There is something comforting about going into a practice room, putting your sheet music on a stand and playing Bach over and over again.

Music as a social conduit has always been important to me.

I've always found that whatever you say about indie rock, it is the most inclusive genre or title for anything. It doesn't pin you down too much, like other labels would. It's just newer, it has less baggage.

Some of your best songs come from a desperate attempt to escape, so sitting in an airport for hours I can just start pulling out little fragments of songs from my head. A lot of times a melody will just occur to me and be my companion for a couple of months.

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

What you see at the Field Museum is only like, 10 percent of the collection. It's birds of paradise and passenger pigeons and in all these drawers that pull out, these specimens come out and it's spectacular. And it worked out.