I never sit and fill a journal with lyrics. Most of the time I'm trying to write a feeling, not a story. I'm not necessarily trying to describe the details of a place or event so much as the feeling of the thing. It is a kind of weird alchemy that is elusive until it feels right.

Weirdly, I was still trying to be the older brother, and trying to get him [Tom Berninger] to try to be more like me a little bit. Or not be more like me but... I was frustrated that he sometimes let things stop him in his life, and he let the wind get knocked out of his sails a few times.

I drink wine on stage to sort of loosen my grip on reality a little.

I have pit bulls barking at me on half of the love songs.

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

A person with grace is somebody who's socially graceful or is a classy person, but sometimes you just feel the opposite of that, and you just feel like a jerk and a loser and a weirdo.

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.