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

Not all the songs are real events, but I do write about stuff that is close to my heart and it comes out one way or another.

I'm trying to figure out how to record at home because I have a tiny house and a seven-year-old and my wife also works at home. So I can't work in the house because she's trying to write, so I pitched a tent in the backyard. I'm literally trying to record in the tent.

A song is a song and, if I am emotionally connected to do it, whether it is sad or not sad, I am going to chase that song.

When I have just sat down and tried to write the lyrics of a song, usually about half of it sounds like bullshit. I just have to go away from something and come back to it again later. I do a lot of editing and switching around and putting little pieces together to get the right mood and personality, and it takes me forever to get a song finished.

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

Trying to make it and get people to respect your band, being a cool band-all of that stuff-I think we've arrived at a place where we have kids and everything is in perspective and it doesn't matter.