You get one chance to make an impression and coasting through is a disservice.

It's like half the campaign of selling a record is trying to convince people that you're an artist. Well, I am an artist. This is what I do.

Life is short. I'm here to make music, I'm not here to sit on a beach. That sounds really boring to me.

The idea of trying to predict what people will or won't respond to is risky.

I'm learning on the guitar all the time.

I really wanted to get that dynamic on the record onto people and let them know it wasn't just a simple strumming along the guitar type of thing without ramming it down their throats so I kind of went the opposite way and sang some of the songs more quietly which allowed for the louder parts to sound as though there were more. It was the only way singing those songs made sense to me.

My love of R&B and hip-hop has influenced my life not even as a musician, but generally in terms of growing up and looking to America as an inspiration.