The idea of starting a band because of Nirvana and thereby trying to sound like Nirvana is totally not the case.

In an artistic and spiritual sense I'm really not that concerned about what happens after the album is done.

I got the chess bug when I was finishing high school, we were doing chess tournaments at my house. I never got to a very high level.

When I say I had a cosmic confidence that we were capable of writing good music, I'm speaking about that time when we met Sam [Fogarino]. Greg [ex-drummer] is actually a really great drummer and a great guy. I never want to sound like I am belittling his contributions in the early days, but when Sam joined, there was an immediacy of, like, "Here we go."

I perceive everything to be constantly subjective and strange. My version of truth in what I express, it feels like that opaque quality that you're talking about. It's just me being legitimate.

You can't just imitate and keep coming up with ideas. You have to be tapping into something that's pure and unconscious in yourself or you'll have no career.

The idea of starting a band because of Nirvana and thereby trying to sound like Nirvana is totally not the case.