My first guitar was a Gibson Challenger.

I'm totally committed to the cause of individuality. That's the only thing I stand by: independence.

How can I shield myself from the things that I hear?

I think the reason I've been able to keep making music is because I'm not married, I don't have kids.

When I did have a little bit of commercial success, it really didn't suit my temperament at all. I'm a terrible public person.

I feel some kind of duty to be really, really honest as a writer. The same is true of my songwriting.

I finished 'Beautiful Creature,' and I felt somewhat unfulfilled. I felt like this other side of me needed to be released. Some of the songs I left off the album weren't intense enough to be what I wanted. They weren't hard enough.