Being in Portland is cool. I have some good friends here and the general feeling might be a little more welcoming.

They even let me do the ads for the album. I definitely want it all to be presented right, but I don't want to be selling. I mean, people do deluxe editions, and I don't even really know how I feel about those yet.

I only write maybe one or two songs every couple of years that I think are good enough to play alone without other stuff happening.

I like having the vinyl, but it's not like we're going to sell an umbrella or something. I don't like the idea of selling something that's not music - I mean, I like going to shows and buying the shirt, but beyond that, I don't know. There's a lot of crap in the world.

Speaking for myself I have influenced with lots of John Coltrane, Van Morrison, Joanna Newsom, Mississippi Records compilations, Simon & Garfunkel, Duncan Browne, Judee Sill, Sublime Frequencies releases, Ali Farka Touré, John Fahey, Flower Travellin' Band, Sagittarius, Toumani Diabaté, Philip Glass, lots of different stuff.

I don't know that we're really going to need a label for the things we're thinking about doing next.

You want to make music that reflects your ideals, but considering the isolating process of recording and the time and energy requirements of touring, there aren't a lot of opportunities to express those ideals anywhere but the music itself.