cause down the shore everything's all right

I never felt I had enough personal style to pursue being just a guitarist.

I heard a political message in rock music. A liberation message. A message of freedom. I heard it in Elvis' voice.

The moment you begin to depend on audience reaction, you're doing the wrong thing. You're doin' it wrong, it's a mistake, it's not right. You can't allow yourself, no matter what, to depend on them.

It took quite a bit of work and time and mistakes to begin to feel - to understand the strength that comes along with building a home life.That was very mysterious to me. I was very skeptical of it for a long time, and didn't understand it fully until Patti [ Scialfa] and I got together.

You need two things to remain very, very present. You need to continue to write well and engage yourself in the issues of the day. And you have to continue to make good, relevant records.

More than rich, more than famous, more than happy...I wanted to be great.