I got tired of the Ramones around the time I quit and I really got into rap. I thought it was the new punk rock. LL Cool J was my biggest idol.

The distance thing is partially due to the fact that I'm pretty shy and I've struggled with extreme stage fright in the past. So I just have to go onstage in a different head space so I'm not as self-aware.

It was sad when Sid Vicious died... I was freaked out when Phil Lynott died from Thin Lizzy. I cried. It was too crazy.

I couldn't do rap. I was trying. I don't know how. I'm not good enough to know.

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

Initially, I was very much concerned with having absolute control. But as time has gone by, I'm not. I mean, the whole first record was really just how I spent my free time: stoned and drinking coffee in my house, spending three hours on a song.

I like California a lot more than New York these days.