I've never quite felt totally comfortable up on stage. I've gotten more comfortable, but drinking wine is a crutch that gives me a little courage. It helps me lose a little bit of the self-consciousness and the awareness of how awkward it is standing on a stage with lights and a bunch of people looking at you while you sing love songs.

I can only write songs when somebody gives me some water to swim in. Otherwise, I'm a fish on the beach.

Lyrics need to be good, but they don't need to be obvious right away.

I don't want somebody telling my daughter who she can marry, or what she can do with her body. That's what was at stake.

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

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.

It takes us a long time to write a song that we all really like, so it makes sense that it would take a while for the listener to get there, too.