I'm a self-taught musician so how I read music is kind of very weak and I kind of read my own version of tablature, I write my own crappy reminders on what I'm playing.

Well you are fresh Your face is fabulous Don’t forget you’re one of a kind When nobody’s checking the deeds you’ve done And nobody’s hearing your cries You make all the fashion statements Just by dressing up your mind ((Beauty in Ugly))

My parents were always very supportive and accepting. They even shared my curiosity for life, or perhaps I theirs.

Well, my view before was a Western view, and I certainly understand marriage equality and civil rights, equal rights for all, but having visited developing nations and some of the poorest nations in the world, I realize how deep it goes and how much work really needs to be done to create equality for all.

I love writing songs with people, which is about really taking risks, throwing yourself over the falls and really seeing what you're made of and seeing how it sticks. Seeing how others react to it, and seeing also how it can become a melody and how it can really take off from your experience. It's a way of seeing life unfold on the page before me.

I love surprises and coincidences. I love them even more when I don't pass them off as luck, but rather recognize them as a sign that my life's course is right on track.

I was a horrible student! It just sort of evolved as I started playing. I guess I became a master of it when I declared myself a wordsmith or a... word-play guy. As soon as I declared it and started that affirmation, I just became it.