The punk-rock ethos was "Do it yourself. Anyone can do this. We're not sent from the heavens."

I'm afraid of everything. I'm not a naturally courageous person.

The punk-rock ethos was "Do it yourself. Anyone can do this. We're not sent from the heavens."

I had to get a driver's license and drive to St. Louis to find the punk-rock scene that was happening there. And there was a punk-rock scene. It was sweet. It was real. It was like everywhere else in the county. It was a handful of people who were feeling the same pull, and, of course, it was like the Island of Misfit Toys in Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer [1964]. Just the freaks, the fags, the fat girls, the unbelievable eccentrics .

Our generation was supposed to be about trying to deal with nuclear concerns and environmental disasters.

I think my apocalyptic feelings went deeper than [heavily influenced by Reagan and AIDS]. I'm really at peace with how afraid I am.

By nature I will find hope in everything. Even if it's the most incredibly hopeless situation or circumstance. That's just me... I'll never be able to see things any other way.