I suppose ever since I was about 14, I remember listening to "Sgt. Pepper's," and I remember thinking, "how do you possibly write songs like that?" I remember starting to try and write songs around that age, but just sitting around with an acoustic guitar, and try to come up with ideas for songs, and that's just what I've done ever since. I just never really stopped doing that, I suppose.

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.

Sometimes there's a general arc that you want to try and get better the longer you do something.

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

There's a fine line between character building and soul destroying.

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

My mother features quite heavily in a lot of my songs.