The problem with books, now that I've written one, is that the idea of adaptation is so much easier than sitting down to write something new.

I lost my innocence with Johnny Cash. I used to watch the Johnny Cash Show on television in Wangaratta when I was about 9 or 10 years old. At that stage I had really no idea about rock'n'roll. I watched him and from that point I saw that music could be an evil thing, a beautiful, evil thing.

We as visual artists need to continue to be renegades and say, "Yes I am here to do a project, but what is the social service?"

When I start writing songs, and they come easily, I'm always very suspicious. That usually means they're reminding me of something I've already done before. When the songs become unsettling, and I feel anxious about what I'm doing, that usually means it's going to be more interesting later on when we actually record the stuff.

I used to believe that if I could do certain things - write a book or be a successful musician - that I'd be transformed into a happy person, but it doesn't work that way.

Film seems to be a medium designed for betrayal and violence.

It's always a pleasure on a personal note for me to come back to Australia.