I had long hair when I was a teenager.

For the records I've work on over the last 10 years, I get sent the really compressed version and the non-compressed version, and oftentimes you end up going with the more compressed one because it's what people's ears are attuned to. I think the bigger problem is saturation and people being desensitized.

Two men look out the same prison bars; one sees mud and the other stars.

As music becomes more computer-based, it's lost some emotional impact.

The only way I was allowed to play was by convincing bands to let me do a few songs while they set up. That went on for years.

Technology was something I avoided when I started out - I didn't even have electric guitars. Only played acoustic.

My whole generation's mission is to kill the cliche...it's one of the reasons a lot of my generation are always on the fence about things. They're afraid to commit to anything for fear of seeming like a cliche. They're afraid to commit to their lives because they see so much of the world as a cliche.