Sometimes [people] seem to think I came out of the womb, you know, cursing, with an electric guitar.

I studied the Bible seriously until I was young teenager. It was always part of our home education: talking about the Bible, arguing about the Bible, interpreting it. So I don't connect prayer or scriptures with any particular religion so it's not a contradiction in my life.

Lets just say that I think any person who aspires, presumes, or feels the calling to be an artist has a built-in sense of duty.

Why can't I write something that would awake the dead? That pursuit is what burns most deeply.

I immersed myself in books and rock 'n' roll, the adolescent salvation.

My father was always talking about God, and I idolized my father, so I'd spend hours trying to have mental telepathy with God.

My mother had no end of tragedy in her life. She would make herself get up and take a deep breath and go out and do laundry. Hang up sheets.