I was 14 or 15 when I discovered poetry, and I pretty much stopped writing prose until Master of Reality.

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

I'm sort of a cavedweller: I miss my house, my yard, my kitchen, my wife. The trees. When I get home, I like to get down into my office neighborhood as soon as I can.

The South actually has a very strong tradition of activism. The civil rights movement came from down here! It was black activists demanding that their voices be heard. People say these are red states. No they're not!

I enjoy hearing people who are good at their instruments and who've found a distinctive voice.

When I was a kid, I was a big science fiction fan, but current horror books were harder to get your hands on.

[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!