All my life I've tried to make everybody happy while I just hurt and hide, waiting for someone to tell me it's my turn to decide.

I think it was the perfect gestation time for this particular piece [ Sounds Like Me: My Life (So Far) in Song]. One of the songs that I considered talking about was "Manhattan," because it was chronicling the end of a long relationship that was part of the reason why I moved from Los Angeles to New York, which was such a life-changing decision. I don't regret that it's not in there, but that's one that I considered diving into, and I have little piecemeal snippets of writing about that floating around

If I get frustrated, the first thing I'll do is get up from the piano - completely mindlessly - and walk over to the cupboard and pull out something salty to eat.

I'm somebody who grew up listening to a lot of musical theater, so getting to finally write musical theater songs and songs that sound that way - the emphasis being on the storytelling, but the arrangements and the orchestrations can be really varied - I found that to be, actually, a really joyful discovery.

I've dabbled in running around on stage, and at certain times it's nice to step away from the anchor of the piano and use a handheld microphone and connect with the audience, but I think my soul as a performer is just a little bit more connected to the instrument. To just sort of sit and sing - that feels like the most natural fit for me.

I think it's one of those things about live performance - anything goes, anything can happen, and you have to just be ready and able to roll with the punches.

I go straight for Seinfeld, Modern Family, Friends, and Golden Girls. Those are my pillars of strength on TV.