Music is about imagination. It's about thought. It's about creating something from nothing.

It's crucial that people are on the right measure at the right time.

Whatever works for the piece I'm thinking about is the way I write.

I really feel instrumental music can speak - can contain tremendous amounts of information - but it's speaking to your subconscious.

It's a mysterious thing that a whole generation of young people can come up and see and understand things that previous generations weren't able to see or understand.

It can and will be a more powerful sound but the orchestra has far more potential for expressive power. When I hear a great rock band it can make me feel alive, but when I hear a great orchestra it can make me feel human.

Occasionally I hear a band that blows me away. For instance, there's a musician in Oakland named Weasel Walter who has a band called the Flying Luttenbachers. Go see the Flying Luttenbachers when they're in your town. He's one of the greatest rock composers who ever lived, and he's struggling and living like a poverty-stricken hermit.