I'm realizing this more and more that it's one thing to get involved with your own political beliefs and stand behind you believe in personally.

Stay focused when you're playing alive, so you're not distracted by something going on.

I started playing guitar when I was 12, and I started getting into more metal, like Maiden and Metallica... Of course, as I kind of got better and better in the guitar, I was listening to more guitar players, so then I got into, I guess, more of the prog side.

I know we play a part in the story of progressive music, but for us those influences are the real fathers, the ones that we were interested in.

I experimented a bunch with Ernie Ball in getting the strings to not flop around too much, but at the same time not to be too thick to where you're playing telephone cables.

Now that we're established and we have a history we know that we can expect people to show up and to have a good time.

To be in Boston, which is a great city and which is full of many colleges and young kids, and to be around that many people that were at the same point in their lives, who played guitar or whatever instrument - it was just perfect. It was a great environment.