The songs are not necessarily autobiographical. A lot of songs are a combination of influences. It might be some part of my life, or something I've felt, or something somebody's told me. It all comes together.

I see some recurring themes: things that feel threaded together, some symbolic references, and songs about some of the big questions, like death. There are a lot of references to weather, too!

You have to pay attention to the moment and make it the best it can be for you. I've been trying to do that. It's really made a major difference for me. I'm a happier person.

After it's finished, sometimes I can trace a path that goes back to the possible source of inspiration.

At this point in my life I'd like to live as if only love mattered.

Everyone is looking for connections between the songs. I don't usually approach a record as a concept. There's no overriding theme I'm trying to represent. It's all about the individual songs.

I dressed up as a veterinarian for a Halloween costume party. I had the lab coat. I got a couple of stuffed animals for patients and put bandages on them.

I end up writing about all kinds of things. I never make an attempt to write about anything in particular. I don't have a little list of topics to write about.

I learn all these things about the record talking about it after it's finished.

I often write either really early in the morning, or really late at night.

I'm a hopeful cynic.

Love's a recurring theme through my work.

My older sister encouraged me from early on and bought me one of the first guitars I had. She listened to all of the crappy songs that I wrote when I was 8 years old and encouraged me to keep doing it.

People's real hopes and dreams can be distorted and misdirected and packaged until you're not sure what you really want or what you even really need.

Songwriting is a very mysterious process. It feels like creating something from nothing. It's something I don't feel like I really control.