I can remember back as far as age 8, performing with the Boston Folk Song Society. It was a Woody Guthrie song.

I initially felt shy about doing painting because I wasn't a professional painter. I almost felt like I didn't deserve to paint. But I have gradually adopted a different kind of attitude about this.

I certainly have gotten caught up in the music business at various times in my life, mostly because you want to get along with whatever record company you're dealing with. I don't want to be flaky. I don't want to be some temperamental, hard-to-work-with musician.

It's obvious you shouldn't steal, kill or be cruel.

I don't like to have everything all worked out in my head because there's always a chance of it coming out different than you think it should anyway.

I'm really inspired by the interplay of visual art and music, a total artistic environment where there's sound and visuals. When I think about that I get stimulated and excited. It's a feeling that you can't label with words.

But the truth is that critics are by definition critical. That's their job.