I always wanted to move to New York because of the Velvet Underground, because of the picture that they painted of New York City.

You have to collaborate with the moment and the environment. It kind of was magnified by the house being a studio.

You've got to be in a place where you can put your guard down. I've got a long list of things I consider to be selling out. But amongst that list, one of them is when you make art without putting your guard down.

People want to be successful, and they want to be acknowledged for what they do. Sometimes they make really great art and aren't. Historically, the best artists weren't. But their work survived.

In my little world, I'm very protected 'cause I'm treated like the idiot I am by my buddies. But, a little bit outside that world, people sometimes expect heavy things from me. For a little time, I tried to appease and not disappoint people but in the end you're just going to kill yourself and fail if you're trying to give more than you are.

Of course, before the internet people found records, too. You can still do it. It's just that people like to make the least amount of effort as possible.

Trying to find comfort in perpetual discomfort has been my life's work.