I was never told to "Get up, get out there, get a job." It was never a thing either parent ever said I had to do. It was what I wanted to do. I think I was very interested in being away from them as much as possible. Employment was great for that.

Music, to me, is mankind's greatest possible achievement because look at all the good it does.

The blues is losing someone you love and not having enough money to immerse yourself in drink.

I want to learn more about the world. It makes me want to get up and go.

At times, I feel America is something that I can actually put my arms around, more than a land mass and a Constitution, something far more containable and understandable. I don't exactly know what it is, but at these times I feel completely woven into it.

I beg young people to travel. If you don't have a passport, get one.........the re are lessons that you can't get out of a book that are waiting for you at the other end of that flight. A lot of people - Americans and Europeans - come back and go, "ohhhhh." And the lightbulb goes on.

For me, speaking to anyone - on a stage, in an elevator - I am looking for impact and connection. The same goes for writing.