I try to put what's evocative in the music to me, I try and put that out there in terms of titles and imagery, or implication towards the listener.

I really think kids should understand that music is like learning the alphabet. You put small letters together to make words, and then you use these words to create a story, but with music. And they really need to know how to mix and match those letters and how to come up with something that is really interesting, or speak in metaphors as poets do to show us something maybe we didn't think about.

Half the stuff I've written was written when I was half asleep watching the David Letterman show when some boring actress was on talking about herself. I would just mute the TV, look over to the computer and start plugging in notes. Then the next morning you go "Wow, I like this". I'd almost forget what I did, and then it would inspire me to go on and do the next thing. That's what I do. Just kind of follow my own little thing.

Of course the headspace for the young musician is whatever the guy who is paying you says, is right, but that's all.

I don't know where I'm going, and I don't care where I'm going. As long as I can just do it.

In the liner notes, music is fine by itself. It doesn't need any explanation.

There's many possibilities for anything.