In terms of songwriting I think it might be a circular thing. I tend to go back and forth between quieter melancholy songs and more forceful, less traditional structures. I think when I find myself leaning too far in one direction I kind of rebel against it and pull the other way.

I think I'm a lot happier than people might think from listening to my songs.

Every single record I make is an act of faith in a sense, and somewhere I also have faith that the people who need to hear my music somehow will.

I think I've gotten a pretty fair shake in the music press over the years. The only think that kind of irks me is when people assume that I must be really depressed person because they find my songs to be sad.

Just because I write in the first person doesn't mean that all my songs are autobiographical.

I am very, very grateful to have the best and most supportive fans ever.

I don't think being a musician makes me a role model at all. But I do believe that I have responsibility to offer people a helping hand when and if I can, just the same way that others have helped me. I think that it's important to keep that cycle going, and to give back to whatever your personal definition of community is.