When I listen to music these days, and I hear Pro Tools and drums that sound like a machine - it kinda sucks the life out of music.

Always have the highest bar for yourself. Wake up everyday and no matter how crappy you feel, want to change something for the better. Do something that makes someone happy. Create something that inspires someone. Be someone's light when they are hopeless.

I love everything about my job, except being away from the kids.

The late '60s and the '70s, a lot of this really beautiful equipment was being made and installed into studios around the world and the Neve boards were considered like the Cadillacs of recording consoles. They're these really big, behemoth-looking recording desks; they kind of look like they're from the Enterprise in Star Trek or something like that. They're like a grayish color, sort of like an old Army tank with lots of knobs, and to any studio geek or gear enthusiast it's like the coolest toy in the world.

Joining a band without ever having really met the people before, you just want to be musically powerful.

And later, if I ever felt that I was getting swept away by the craziness of being in a band, well, I'd go back to Virginia.

One of the great things about Taylor Hawkins is his…shirtless body, really.