I remember my friends at primary and secondary school admiring my work and even paying me money for some of my pieces.

I try to not be self-conscious in my writing process.

A lot of the people I was writing with think a lot more about lyrics and a lot more about the details from the beginning. That kind of thinking made me a little self-conscious because I was suddenly having to judge what I was doing early on in the process.

None of my songs are written 'about' someone or something, they all just sort of tumble out unannounced, like the worst kind of house guest.

A pretty pivotal moment for me was having a songwriting class with Paul McCartney when I was at LIPA, and then being called in a few days later by the headmaster of the school to tell me that Paul McCartney likes what I'm doing.

Normally the meaning of the songs, if there is any, occurs to me after I've written the song.

I believe that people have to be sensitized more about the many jobs an individual can branch out to after studying an art form.