I got back from Toronto, where they had a severe outbreak of SARS - you know, Severe Asian Racism Syndrome.

I mean, what's great about touring is that's what you do. You're in a constant state of motion and then you stop to do a show and you move onto the next city. All you have to do is do the show. That's the only responsibility that you have.

That notion that we're in the post-racism, post-sexism world is so not true.

I thought I was so ugly for so long, and I wasted so much of my life on this dumb notion.

Your goal is to write that masterpiece. Yello's masterpiece was "Oh Yeah." Whatever I say about the song doesn't matter, because it has a huge impact on how we remember the era.

Comedy was the key to everything. I grew up fast and controlled my future by bringing it on faster than it naturally unfolded. I cheated myself out of a childhood but then got a running headstart into adulthood that no one else could keep up with.

I got back from Toronto, where they had a severe outbreak of SARS - you know, Severe Asian Racism Syndrome.