When you write a song about a place, you are writing a song about a place that might be in a hundred years, or a place that has been, or that was - in your imagination. I think that also embodies the American spirit. You are looking for what you can call "a place."

A lot of people change their band names because they're looking for a change of atmosphere.

I knew I could never give up on music. Completely devoid of any religious or iconic context, I felt like music was handed down to me - this is what I was going to do.

I just understand... I mean this may sound kind of bigheaded, bullheaded, or cumbersome, but when people say they've had a really deep experience with the record, like it caused a divorce or it like...I've gotten all these stories.

I don't know why you'd spend any of your time trying to remake something that you don't actually like.

We got in after a ten hour drive after sleeping for four hours. I'm not complaining here. I'm really not complaining. Ten hour drive to get here, we unload, we sound check, we get here we take photos, we do this. I haven't eaten anything today. It's like... And I'm not even hungry.

There were a bunch of moments that kept cascading. Like, when we got an opportunity to play "Letterman", it gave us an opportunity to step up. It feels good to shed that skin and rise out of it.