“My parents dreaded the fact that I was changing my life to do this, but I just kept doing it.”
“New York City has the most beautiful women.”
“Paul McCartney and John Lennon would often write a song a day, so I have the same workmanlike philosophy.”
“I try to acknowledge both the sacred and the silly in my work. That goes for the live show as well. If I find myself in my head or dwelling in seriousness, I think of my friends back home and how they'd be laughing at me.”
“I get my most creative sort of energy after a show. So I love to go back to the hotel and compose new material. Generally in a rush, exactly. I have to get it out somehow, otherwise I can't sleep, you know.”
“It's easier to write from my own life, and it's also more fun. I always write about relationships, for instance, whether they're romantic relationships, friendships, encounters... there's always a lesson to be learned from them.”
“Anytime someone uses one of my songs for anything - a ceremony or a sacred moment - that, to me, is a high honor. I'm proud of the song at that point because I'm trying to write something for humans - whichever humans want to get on board and put this in their soundtrack to their soul's development or spiritual lives.”
“By the end of the writing process, which is about 80 songs per album, I look at the material and think, what's going to make a difference in someone's life.”
“By the time my children are born, I know it's possible that they can grow up in a world where they don't understand that there were ever any dividers between people and why we have the issues we do today. That's my goal in this life.”
“For me to create an album of 12 songs, I've got to write about 80 songs. Half of those are totally weird and rubbish. But I get to some really good stuff after a while.”