I've had insomnia since I was a little kid and I never sleep well. Sometimes I sleep very badly and sometimes I sleep slightly badly. I get it especially when I'm on tour because you cross a lot of time zones, and I'm not very adaptable.
Personally I find the democratic chaos of the Internet fascinating, and for the most part really benign.
I've made records that everyone has hated and I've loved, and made records that everyone has loved and I've deemed, at best, mediocre.
Every single day the world seems like it is on the brink of falling apart. But then I look outside my window, and things look about the same as they did a week ago. It's almost a form of cognitive dissonance.
Sacha Baron Cohen is one of my heroes.
The good thing about working alone is I get a lot done and I can experiment more. The bad thing is I miss out on the gregarious, social way that most musicians work.
When I do have time to work on music, I'm kind of selfish, and would rather work on my own stuff than someone else's.
There are some public figures who are very private and almost hide behind their work. I try to be as open as possible.
It's sometimes too easy to point fingers when circumstances dramatically go awry, but as an addict, I'm ultimately responsible for my own decisions, no matter how benign or tragic the consequences.
When I was nine years old, I started playing guitar, and I took classical guitar lessons and studied music theory. And played jazz for a while. And then when I was around fourteen years old, I discovered punk rock. And so I then tried to unlearn everything I had learned in classical music and jazz so I could play in punk rock bands.
I think the word 'blog' is an ugly word. I just don't know why people can't use the word 'journal.'
The good thing about not being drop-dead gorgeous is that as time passes, I don't have much to worry about. I have friends who are actors and every day they look in the mirror with trepidation.
You can sit down with Reason or Ableton and literally in a couple of hours make a very good-sounding record. But then a lot of people become contented with that, rather than pushing themselves to making something that sounds great.
I have actually found myself buying up more and more old analogue gear. I have this strange obsession with old drum machines.
I'm like a bad musical cliche because I bring my guitar on the road and try to write songs in hotel rooms.
I know, in my heart of hearts, I don't do things for money.
Call me a nerd if you like, but I do find it hard to leave home without my laptop and a good book.