The drummer in my first band was killed in Vietnam. He kind of signed up and joined the marines. Bart Hanes was his name. He was one of those guys that was jokin' all the time, always playin' the clown.

Tonight I'm stepping lightly and I'm feeling no pain.

We live in a post-authentic world, and today authenticity is a house of mirrors. It's all just what you're bringing when the lights go down. It's your teachers, your influences, and your personal history. At the end of the day, it's the power and purpose of your music that still matters.

I met a girl and we ran away, I swore I'd make her happy every day. And how I made her cry, two faces have I.

Let's raise our glass and let the hammer fly, yeah, this is the long good-bye.

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.

God have mercy on the man who doubts what he's sure of.