I do have a romantic interest in outlasting everybody else. There's a sort of sad machismo to singer-songwriters, I think.

Anger is preverbal, so, by the time you're using words to express an angry feeling, you're already imposing loads of structure on that primal experience.

Over the past 40 years, the tradition of Southern progressivism has been somewhat successfully erased by right-wing revisionist historians.

I grew up in Southern California, so the whole concept of a local music history is still kinda novel to me.

Not everybody relates to pain, but if you can watch other people playacting it, you can absorb some of that vibe. It's like watching horror movies - you want to have the experience, but in a safe environment.

In death metal, a lot of guys are Eddie Van Halen disciples, but they take his style to really expressionistic places. It's a real pleasure for me to hear people pushing their craft.

Literature is a mystical place for me. It's not dry. It's where miracles happen.