Every time you pick up an instrument, it's not always out of necessity - for a certain kind of person, it's a choice.

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

We're covering all our bases so we can do whatever we want next time. That's how we're looking at it, rather than this just being an endless number of album/tour cycles.

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.

The simpler songs are just done when the lyric has been stated; the more complex or band-oriented stuff can go in a million directions.

I think that's becoming more and more of a priority, letting other aspects of life take precedent over making music, or just approaching the whole thing more holistically.

I was listening to this Ngozi Family record, 45,000 Volts, and it's mostly this guy singing, and then for the choruses, he's doubled. And it's not even harmonized, it's all the same note! And I'm like, "Oh, that sounds epic." I don't know, it's just one of those arbitrary taste things.