We worked very hard on that untitled record to do something different and that we were proud of and to try a bunch of different ideas. It was like this gigantic musical laboratory that we were going to every day. I love that record, I think that's one of the high watermarks of us as a band.

Once I was in the Blink-182, going to Iraq was really touching. It was kind of emo for me, going and meeting soldiers who were, like, 19 and hadn't even met their kids... Or dealing with depression. Just being with those soldiers and traveling with them in helicopters and people with M-16s. It was an eye-opener.

There's also this weirdness to California, this darkness, it's a place where people come to follow their dreams and sometimes don't make it.

Music is life. Music defines peoples' experience on this planet. Name one time in your life that wasn't punctuated by the music you listened to at the time. When people are down, they listen to music that commiserates that emotion. When people are amped up, they listen to more upbeat, loud songs.

Take it from me because I learned the hard way: circumcisions are best left to professionals.

No matter what, I think people are trying to better themselves, or to better their situation, or to find something new and exciting.

I kinda like the duality of California and the dark side, the underbelly of California.