Visuals are as artistic as sounds, so being serious about both isn't a contradiction to me.

Progression is important. I'm always going to play music in the general vein of rock'n'roll, but when I started I was very much associated with the West Coast lo-fi thing and I didn't want to get anchored in with anything that was just in vogue for the time being.

I've always admired people with really strong presences and felt that caring about the visual component of what you do is not intrinsically superficial or vain.

There's a side to being in a band that some people embrace and some don't: the fact that you're performing and you care about how it comes across.

I had a really intense flying dream most of my childhood into my teens. I would go out at night and fly all over the city and I could facilitate other people to fly with me.

Billboard called my solo album, 'Standing In The Spotlight,' a great party album and even said that my raps put the Beastie Boys to shame.

It's very expensive to bring a band to New York.