I'm just a dude and I feel like being completely isolated would be kind of a drag. I really do get a lot of energy from feedback from fans. People create music videos and artwork for my music.

There's a vast ecosystem for music outside of Myspace and Facebook and you need to make sure that your music is in as many hands as possible. I wanted people to share my music and tell friends about me, and if you want to rely on word of mouth, you have to make it easy for people. I got lucky because I had a few songs that hit big and got a lot of links on blog posts.

You should know how great things were before you. Even so, they're better still today. I can't think of who I was before you ruined everything in the nicest way.

But there's no sense crying over every mistake. You just keep on trying till you run out of cake.

Make good stuff, then make it easy for people to buy it. There’s your anti-piracy plan.

One thing I've learned is that the audience not only wants to be talked to but they also like to talk back. Maybe that's not a universal thing but people at my shows always have something to say. I love it because it encourages the spirit of having a good time together and it takes the show to places that I wouldn't be able to take it without their participation. The show becomes something that we're all working on together. That sounds really cheesy but I mean it.

It's weird but it's amazing, and it's great to know people are thinking about you. It's a huge ego boost and anyone that says they don't love that is lying.