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

A guilty conscience means at least you have one.

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

I don't want to sing songs and write songs that need to have images behind them that are of a specific time. The times we live in today - I mean, there's a lot to work with. But I think that if I was my age in 1975 or 1985, I would have felt the same way because that's what I gravitate toward.

To us, there was Bob Dylan, and there was dad. As for what he meant to other people, that was never glorified in our house. There were no accolades there, no gold records.

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

I do like a song that can look good on a page without even being sung. I edit and edit and edit.