But I'm not worried about seeking out the approval of others - that high school thing of joining the club.

My music is so often like a lullaby I write to myself to make sense of things I can't tie together, or things I've lost, or things I'll never have.

I like surfing; I bring a surfboard with me on tour.

But I'm not worried about seeking out the approval of others - that high school thing of joining the club.

That's what drew me to rock music in the first place - that sense of remaking the world on your own terms.

You probably became a musicians because you're into it so stay that way. Don't believe that someone else has the golden ticket for you because they don't.

I see rock music as the best example of modernday storytelling that exists in our society. Songs are narratives that help the listeners cope with the reality of life that can't be easily spoken about in everyday conversation. It is a hugely powerful process of helping people find themselves through music.