Rock and roll seems to have had a mellowing in the business where it got harder to sell individual records and make money doing that.

I know a girl who cries when she practices violin because each note sounds so pure it just cuts into her, and then the melody comes pouring out her eyes. Now, to me, everything else just sounds like a lie.

It's in vogue to have a cause and give money in charity. But to actually speak up and say something like, I'm pissed about this" - that doesn't seem to be very popular unless you're writing a blog or tweeting.

When I try to explain to people the big influences in my life, or at least when I first started, the most important ones were my friends who were also writing songs and were typically four or five years older than me.

My dad, who plays guitar and piano and was in cover bands, along with my older brother, Matt, taught me guitar and stuff. I started writing acoustic songs and playing by myself in 7th grade.

I started to sink like the moon tends to do if you stare at it too long Then you blink and it's gone.

And in the morning when the sun rise. Look in the water, see the blue sky. As if heaven has been laid there at our feet.