I don't really have an ambition to become the Rolling Stones, or anything like that. For me, it's just playing music is kind of a transcendent, amazing gift, so when people come together and they play, I think it's a real special thing.

Some of songs are autobiographical and some of it is more telling a story from someone else's perspective. It's healthy for me to do that because, oftentimes, it can become too narcissistic if I'm trying to express myself all of the time. My problems are what I'm going through and sometimes it's nice to take a step back and feel what someone else is going through and that can help.

Sometimes song happens all at once where you sit down and the lyrics and the music just come out. So there definitely isn't one way that it happens - there are a lot of different things that take place.

"Alleluia" song is a street hymn in the sense that it's all about culture.It's almost a juxtaposition of the prayers of the world and the prayers of the culture and how we sometimes put an "amen" after crazy things. So it's really just that tension between madness and simplicity.

Often times, if a character is pretty straightforward, he or she is not as interesting to portray.

Gratitude is the root of joy.

I would rather portray the hero, if it's a really great film. All my favorite fictional film characters are heroes, such as in "The Last of the Mohicans" and "Robin Hood."