My dad was quiet, angry, shut down. So my thing is: I express everything that's there. I want to get it all out.

I just didn't realize, being a young person, that if you sign up to make a film, a certain portion of your soul is forever gone. From there on, you are that character to everybody you'll ever meet again.

Sometimes travelling really intensely for a long time is like having a continuous nervous breakdown.

I love the idea of leaving some of the original abstract thought in, because the problem is that when you pick up a pen you become a snob, your own worse critic. You edit yourself in a way that is non-creative.

I think ultimately, people are selfish in that department [blues], in a good way - the reason we're attracted to art is because it somehow reflects us. And I think, ultimately, we're a tribal people by nature. We're not individualistic. We almost like to hear that there's other people in a worse state than us. Sometimes even more than we like hearing there are people in better states than us.

I only ever really take out my guitar when I'm miserable, which isn't necessarily a very good time to do it.

A song is like a saddle: you ride it for a while, and if it's the right kind of song you can sing it for the rest of your life.