Some of the greatest blues music is some of the darkest music you've ever heard.

Anyone who's grown up or lived on the Jersey Shore knows the place is unique.

I've always loved the fact that Bob's [Dylan] been able to sustain his mystery over 50 or 60 years.

In the end what you don't surrender, well, the world just strips away.

I tend to be a subscriber to the idea that you have everything you need by the time you're 12 years old to do interesting writing for most of the rest of your life - certainly by the time you're 18.

The different social forces that affected my parents' lives or my friends' lives or I saw around me became essential for me to write about.

I was a guitar player on the streets of Asbury Park and already a member in good standing amongst those who lie in service of the truth - artists with a small A. But I held four clean aces. I had youth, almost a decade of hardcore bar band experience, a good group of homegrown musicians who were attuned to my performance style, and a story to tell.