I like to make great albums.

I feel like records are moments in time, a modern moment that feels right then and it found its way to us then, that minute. We can all try and repeat records we have made that had success, but it's not possible.

I've pretty much run the circle of labels and dealing with that whole kind of battle, because you're the one creating the music, but you're not the final say. That's always been hard.

So it's the greatest compliment in the world when people want to hear you sing. That means it feels good to them, so I keep doing it.

That's what I so admired about Johnny Cash and June Carter. Their music wasn't a big influence on me. It was their character, their individual styles, what they were like as people. They weren't afraid to stick out.

I can find some way to make poetry out of my life's experiences.

I'm the audience first, and if you're gonna be a great performer, you need to be a great audience. So, I do music for me first, and whoever likes it likes it, and whoever doesn't -- well, it's just not for them.