You have to have a work ethic and you have to be educated in what you're doing. You have to take it seriously. It doesn't mean that everything you do has to be serious. But you've got to have the tools.

The songs I write should only be gauged by what other writers or peers are doing today. If the barometer for all songwriters was to match his body of work, then anyone you might mention alive or dead is a failure. But I've learned to not be too hung up on what's fair or not fair.

I'm allowing myself every opportunity, every tool that every other artist should allow themselves to use. If anybody expects me to not use certain language or certain words, like I have some kind of penalty restriction, it's completely unrealistic.

But there's got to be an opening somewhere here in front of me. Through this maze of ugliness and greed.

My songs have always had hope and perseverance in them - I never write songs that have no escape hatch, no positivity.

Its a little gross to put yourself in every song. I mean, how interesting do people really think you are?

I always saw songwriting as the top of the heap. No matter what else you were going to do creatively... writing songs was king.