The turning point for me was when the Supreme Court installed Bush in 2000, even though he got half a million votes less nationally than Gore. It was nothing more than a bloodless coup and that's when I really started paying attention.

To me, all war is failure for humanity, though it often is a bounty for commerce.

Be comfortable with who you are', reads the headline on the Hush Puppies poster. Are they mad? If people were comfortable with who they were, they'd never buy any products except the ones they needed, and then where would the advertising industry be?

I followed most of the 80's bands into the 90's as most of those folks who hadn't moved away were all still active. However, there was a point when I lost track of the new bands coming up.

Cleveland is the place I grew up and lived much of my adult life, so it will always be a part of my soul.

I pretty much ignored politics all through my 20′s and 30′s... I had other things on my mind... the band, finding a meaningful relationship, getting enough money to eat and pay the rent.

They lyrical content has grown more introspective and less abstract. I don't know if that's good or bad... Sometimes it feels a little raw to be putting so much of myself out there.