You know, I've written many of my songs while driving - which is against the law in many cases.

Alternative spaces, independent media, satellite, these all provide some tools by which we can work more independently and deal more directly with communities we hope to reach. Distribution is key, and finding alternative ways to do that with new media is critical.

Where else can you go with respect to the work, lyrics, and message of the music? If you are past high school age, you can get by with saying very little the first or second time around. However, after a while you know you are going to have to say something beyond high school stuff.

Find like-minded people and try not to be individualized to the point where you try to fight it all and think about it all on your own.

The best American is one who considers themselves as a citizen of the world.

As a late teenager, the punk movement pushed me further. In particular, the Clash, which happened to leak through the time of disco, showed me that there was this cross-cultural sound that could cut across genres and audiences. Like punk was to disco, rap music was a rebellion against R&B, which had adopted disco and made it worse.

My daughter's 19. I'm not asking her to develop as an artist. I'm just asking her to develop as a full person, human being.