I’m not all about money, but, like most musicians, I am about survival.

I subscribe to the myth that an artist's creativity comes from torment. Once that's fixed, what do you draw on?

I love writing. I don't claim to be great at it. Occasionally I get a good sentence off. But I love the activity.

I've been asking myself: 'Why put together these things - CDs, albums?' The answer I came up with is, well, sometimes it's artistically viable. It's not just a random collection of songs. Sometimes the songs have a common thread, even if it's not obvious or even conscious on the artists' part.

The world isn't logical, it's a song.

Something about music urges us to engage with its larger context, beyond the piece of plastic it came on-it seems to be part of our genetic makeup that we can be so deeply moved by this art form. Music resonates in so many parts of the brain that we can't conceive of it being an isolated thing.

In a certain way, you get some new tools to work with, but I don't know if it ultimately makes the creative process any easier.