It was always a thrill for me, getting out of the cocoon and wandering. I'd let the wind wrap around me like fire and slip into the unknown with a moment's hesitation.

Slipknot is the darkness; Stone Sour is the light. Slipknot is chaos; Stone Sour is structure.

You ever want to feel powerless? Watch the people you care about being hurt and know there is nothing you can do about it.

Now you've got people who don't really have the skills, because technology hides it, going out and putting these crappy singles out, and because that's all there really is, people basically eat it like hamburgers. It's become very, very commercialized. Which wouldn't bother me as much if people actually had talent. When I listen to something and the first thing I notice is that it's been turned into crap, I shut it off and throw it out the window of my car. Like it's the most offensive thing to me.

The weird thing about metal fans is we're all so maladjusted in a lot of ways. We're individualistic and opinionated and severe in our personalities - sometimes we really turn each other off. A little bit of a metal fan goes a long way.

My biggest influences were 1980s punk and metal. Metallica were my biggest influence because they were good at everything - riffs, energy - but with such an ear for melody, it was hard not to get pulled into it and become a fanatic.

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