The '90s were indeed a great time to be alive. There was a sense of optimism that I never felt before that decade and I haven't felt since.

The best friends you will ever have are the ones who don't make you feel like you owe them a damn thing.

I left Stone Sour in '97 because, by that time, we'd been together for about five years and I was kind of getting to the point where I wanted to do something different. I loved the music that we did and I loved the guys that I was with, but I was 24 and just felt like I needed to go and try something different so I didn't get stuck where I was, you know, just doing the same thing. And, coincidentally, that's when Slipknot came and asked me to join. I'd never done anything like Slipknot up until then, so I was like, "Okay, we'll try this and we'll see what happens." And it worked out.

I love the fact that people can relate to what I'm saying, even if it's not for the same subject I was writing about. That is the power of real music and real expression.

I'm a very lucky guy. I get to write music that I love, and lo and behold, people seem to really like it. I know how fortunate I am.

Mistakes you can learn from; sins stay with you forever.

But I always kind of knew in the back of my head that I could come back and do Stone Sour.