If you look at the way people behave at shows, icons are now musicians; they are the people that we worship.

You rarely find someone who sings really well and who produces really well; it's a problem, and I just think it's a missing link in the music scene.

One thing with Montreal is it's so cold and everyone's so poor and beer's so cheap: if you go to a show you have to brave the weather to get there. So you show up and everyone's soaking wet - there's a sense of 'I trekked through three feet of snow to get here!' I think there's a kind of camaraderie that arises out of that, that's important to me as well.

I can't censor myself; it's really important for me to say how I feel.

If I think about what other people are thinking when I'm making music, I just can't do it. It's too withheld - I need to go totally over the top, and then kind of clean it up a bit and make it more reasonable after the fact.

Lately I've been really into screaming a lot through delay [effects], having seven people on stage topless going crazy, stuff like that. Really in your face, but maybe more organic than choreographed dance moves.

I definitely see the voice as an instrument: It makes great drums, great synth pads, great everything.