I was a happy kid up until I hit the teen years.

I don't want to mix the identities. Noah Drake isn't Rick Springfield.

I can't imagine that anybody is as screwed up as I am.

I don't know any musician, successful or otherwise, that got in it to make money. Or writer, for that matter. You get into it because you love it.

I was more than just a moody artist.

God has spoken to me differently through my life, and it has gotten better as I've gotten older. I don't know if that's my reception or his maturing.

At this young age I am already sold on the idea of the dog. One of God's absolutely greatest inventions and one that needs no more tinkering. The dog is the perfect beast, companion, friend, shoulder to lean on, and scapegoat when too many cookies are missing. And a dog won't hold that against you, either. I am at peace sitting in silence with a dog.