A bands first albums usually not great. When you made the first album, you had a day job and you were still trying to be serious about it.

Giving up and doing something else (nursing, for me) was exactly what eventually led me to making music that other people wanted to hear.

Our [former] governor [Pat McCrory] was supposed to be a moderate, but he found himself beholden to people who have much more draconian ideas. I think he assumed this stuff flew under the radar.

I worked the AV counter at the Roland Heights public library in the '80s. My best story from the library was the time a couple asked for a recommendation, and I recommended Raising Arizona and they absolutely hated it. They came back hungry for blood. I was on my lunch break and my boss came out and said, "Hey kid, you need to come talk to these people. They totally hate Arizona." And he said, "Arizona's a dog; nobody gets that movie."

I couldn't name more than a couple of good drum'n'bass acts, and I have no idea what's big in the dance world right now.

A novel is a performance you have to plan.

You're not really going to know what a place is like 'til you've lived there a few years - you sort of just have to go with your gut.