I just found over the years that it's very hard to change people's perception of what it is that you do.

I used to drink a lot. I had to stop drinking because it was getting the better of me, and I replaced that with really doing shows.

I'd love to have a hit record. I don't believe anyone that says they wouldn't like that.

I tend to write pretty much by myself. I always did that anyway. I used to write with Ron Strykert 'cause he was the only guitarist and we played well together. We lived in the same place. I would play a certain style and he would kind of dance around what I did, in a sense. I learned from him and also vice-versa. With this band, I think I bounce ideas off everybody. Perhaps on the next album they'll be more collaborative stuff, but for the last 2-3 years, I've been pretty well writing by myself.

I just want to be a better guitar player, really.

The thing with playing live is, most of the audience is in their 20s and 30s. If you're older than that, you don't tend to go out to shows anymore. So it's good if you can attract a younger audience because they've got the energy to get up off the sofa and go out.

I do like writing songs in a band. When it's rock, it's such a different kind of dynamic, obviously.