Have compassion for everyone you meet, even if they don’t want it.

I'd rather play a few nights at the Fillmore than play one night at an arena.

I started writing songs, I guess, when I was about 13 or 14, but I didn't know if they were good enough yet or anything.

I started writing more with my voice in mind.

I usually don't write about my life right when it happens. I process it, and I store it away. Then, when I get in the mood I pull the stuff back out.

I think we start suffering as soon as we come out of the womb. I think that people tend to stereotype. When they think of suffering, they think of abuse - physical abuse, emotional abuse, poverty, that kind of thing. There's different levels of suffering. I don't think that it has to do with how much money you have - if you were raised in the ghetto or the Hamptons. For me it's more about perception: self-perception and how you perceive the world.

Have compassion for everyone you meet, even if they don’t want it.