There are so many ways to respond to music besides feeling like someone's communicating with you. It gives me a charge.

[Robert] Aikman would write horror stories that weren't gore, they weren't slashers, and they weren't monster stories either. He called them ghost stories. The main thing about them was the vibe. It was really disquieting. He wanted to sketch the scene so that you could see it and know the characters and get a feel for the motion - and then ask yourself why and not get a final answer. Leave something that itches. I loved that!

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.

Everybody experiences reality in a way that's only true for them.

You should avoid seeing too much of yourself anywhere: in the outside world, in others, in the imagined worlds that give you shelter.

People want you to play the songs they know. I try not to reflect too much, and I don't really like to focus too much on myself.

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