My father had all kinds of instruments in the house that he would hide from my mother. He bought them through mail order!

My grandmother sang, too, and she was really loud. It was this wild kind of singing. I count her among my influences.

I'm always imagining some sort of story behind the song, even the ones I haven't written. I'm actively engaging in playacting.

Miles Davis was doing something inherently African, something that has to do with all forms of American music, not just jazz.

My father had all kinds of instruments in the house that he would hide from my mother. He bought them through mail order!

There was a train that would come by our house every night, and I'd hear the whistle blow. That is the sweetest memory I have.

Everything I do is collaborative. It's just my way. I'm really very interested in how the other musicians perceive the song.