Somehow, you realize you can kind of do anything in music. You don't have to be good at a certain thing; you can just do whatever you want.

My parents know that I have always been sort of a dark melodramatic kid, so they were never concerned.

There are records that you just sink into. They coincide with what you’re going through and become an ally. If our records do that for people, that’s the greatest compliment I could ever receive. That’s one of the reasons making music is so important to me, because there’s a very strange emotional reach. For me—more than books or movies or other things—music is like a mainline to your heart.

Sadness is not always the worst feeling. Sometimes it's a really pleasurable thing to be overwhelmed with sadness.

I'm doing a little freelance work, and I think everybody's trying to take their minds off rock and roll for a little while and get some perspective.

Music has got a community vibe to it that pulls people together, and those communities are different in different places.

I became at peace with the darkness or the personality that I have. I am usually pretty funny and happy.