Believe it or not, Japanese is actually easier than some European languages!

'Urban Renewal' was sweet because I've been - unfairly, I would say - plonked in the middle of the road because of a handful of songs. It came at a good time for me, because you do take a bit of a browbeating and, as you get older, you become better at accepting it and realizing why it happens.

I don't want to preach, but I really think the rudiments are very important to developing your drumming skills. Many of the patterns I've recorded came from things like paradiddles, flam paradiddles, flam triplets... They might be boring to sit down and practice, but not when you apply them to the drums.

To be honest, producing records interests me less at the moment and I really don't want to get involved in album projects that are going to take up a lot of time

I was talking to Australian press earlier, and they said: we never stopped playing you. I tended to forget about that. It brings a smile to your face that there is this continuing thing, that people like what you do.

I'm usually going to make a record, finish a record, start a record or start a tour or between tours.

The whole having records and selling records and being on TV, that was something that I didn't ever think would be for me. I thought that would be for other people. All I wanted to do was make a living playing the drums.