Smokey Robinson is one of my heroes as a singer and songwriter, a major influence on my own music from the very start.

I grew up in a very racially integrated place called Pottstown. It was an agricultural / industrial town which has since become a suburb of Philadelphia. I grew up basically in a black neighborhood.

What I do isn't black music, it's just my music.

The difference between me and other people in my generation is instead of saying the Internet's killing the record business, I say, 'Who cares about the record business, the Internet is enhancing music.

Every artistic form has its golden age, and unfortunately I think the golden age for whatever I do probably ended about 1990.

I was very inspired by my mother. She was a vocal teacher and sang in a band, and my first memories of her were going out with her on the local circuit.

Most artists try to avoid cliches, but it's pretty hard to avoid them if you yourself end up being one.