The point of being in a band, for instance, isn't to get big; it's about enjoying playing shows.

The critics and hardcore music fans, those are the people you have to get to first, so we're really happy about it.

I'm not only a songwriter but I'm a massive music fan and I love going to shows. It's different than reading a book.

Someone should have a record that doesn't have any singing. It's my favorite Miles Davis record. I love hanging out in the summer, in New York, when it's miserably hot. I love electric Miles Davis in the summer. Jack Johnson, the songwriting especially, is a premier example of that. It always makes me feel hot in the city. It's also nice to have something not yelling in your ear. For me, as a lyricist, it's nice to put on something without any words.

I think the biggest thing - and this I think is true of songs but also of movies and books and art in general - is when you have this moment where you hear a song or whatever and you say, "Hey, I've felt that exact way as a human being," and there's no easy way to describe it.

I think the other thing that shaped me a little bit is that I really didn't have any success in music until my early to mid-30s.

I think making the songs is to put strength in the community in some way.