I'm not sober. I haven't done drugs in 3 1/2 years, so I call myself clean.

When people ask me if I have a hobby, a lot of times my answer is that I like to surf in warm water. I like to ski, if I have the opportunity. But really, I like to go to my studio and write music that I want to write, where there's no pressure to come up with a hit single.

It seems like everyone's got an agenda, and the agenda seems to be selling magazines or air time with sensational stories.

Writing the songs and producing the songs and arranging them and recording them is your canvas and your palette and your brush.

Making an album should be an honest experience. It shouldn't be about trying to gauge where popular music is today; it should be about artistic expression and putting down what you want to put down.

To be appreciated by a whole 'nother generation of fans, all of a sudden discovering you, it's kind of what I did with the classic bands I love - the ones that influenced me.

Great classic music that I've been turned on to has not only inspired and influenced me, but it has had an effect on my songwriting.