On tour I'm finding out that I am half gypsy, 40% vagabond, and 10 house cat.

You have to have a vision and know that it's worth seeing it through. Other than that, just be true to your heart.

Because of our situation, God has given us an opportunity to almost transcend our gender, which gives us a vision and sensitivity that other people don't have. They think that being white and male is going to save the world; but life is not The Lion King.

There are no rules or certain methods. I usually start with the guitar or piano and sing melodies over the chords. The lyrics seem to be born out of that, and the fact that it's still a mystery to me is my favorite part.

I love writing with Colbie [Caillat]. We have something very magical together that's difficult to describe. We're very comfortable with each other, and that's really important for co-writing. I think both of us bring different things to each song.

I really think that people are getting fed up with the computer generated music. I think it had a little time where it was new and it kind of worked, but it's so overdone that people are getting sick of it, and are turning back to real music.

I took piano and drum lessons when I was young, and took a lot of choir classes in high school. Beyond that I just play by ear and learn as I go.