Everybody’s a multifaceted, emotional, living being, I think. Sometimes it’s fun to goof around, sometimes you’ve got to think about things, sometimes you’ve got to be strange, and then you’ve got to be jiggly. That’s just what being a human’s all about.
I’m just being myself. I’m not a very complex guy; I’m not a very studious, crazy intellectual guy. I’m just a guy.
When you’re growing up, you just take what you’ve got.
Patience is important, and also, if you don’t want to do it, don’t do it. But if you do, do. That’s a general rule in how I live my life.
Regardless of how funny I want to be, I don’t ever have a problem speaking from my heart or speaking honestly to people.
Perfectionist? Thats not something I am.
Once a song comes out, these songs aren’t mine. They’re everybody’s. So there you go.
When we were in Beijing, they were all “it’s an honor, you’re playing at the oldest rock club in Beijing”. And I was all “oh crazy how old is it?” And then were all: “5 years old.”Asia is just very different.
I was having a good time before, but you grow up after a couple years and realize, “I can’t get drunk like this every night.” Things change.
I mean, Lady Gaga is trying to be a freak or whatever but that quality of being very meaningly and heartfelt, but also having a sense of humor about it, bands don’t do that anymore. Lady Gaga’s songs are cheesy. The Beatles weren’t cheesy. That’s the hardest thing with music: to not be cheesy, but also be meaningful. That’s the goal, I think.
I have a lot of friends that I’d like to shout out but I don’t think anyone will know who they are.
In Europe, people tend to be very respectful. They try not to make too much noise at inappropriate times. In other countries, people can be very still. Sometimes I’m not sure if a crowd is into it until the end, when they usually want me to do something crazy for the encore.
You know, when your poisoning your body night after night after night, you end up chipping a couple years off your life. I’ve always wanted to be able to do this and now that I am, it’s hard to complain.
I take making music seriously, but you have to have a sense of humor about yourself. I invite people into my life. That’s how I do it.
‘Salad Days’ refers to a youthful or innocent period. And a lot of people having been asking me already so you jaded? And I’m not, I’m 23. It’s me reflecting, I had to re-learn to have fun with music and I had to re-count my blessings.
The songs that I’m able to write are the songs I’m able to write, whatever they may be. The path I’ve cut for myself is pop music – love-y pop music. That’s what I enjoy doing. And I don’t think I’m going to get sick of it anytime soon.
The time came around where the label was like, “Well, if you want something to come out in early 2017, it’s going to have to be done by, like, so-and-so.” So I plucked some of the old songs and wrote some new ones. Everybody keeps asking me, “Is this your L.A. record?” I was doing songs in a bedroom in New York, I was doing it in a bedroom in L.A. The only difference is when I look out the window, there’s palm trees instead of snow.
Journalists say my music is “blue wave,” or “dreamy,” or “jangly-slacker jewel,” and none of it really makes sense to me.
Neil Young is the prime example, the grand goal, if you will. He’s still shredding, and he never lost his credibility.
I think people do expect something a little weird to happen. Maybe they’ve seen something I did once on the Internet and expect that I’m gonna do that every night.
I had a band called the Sound Of Love and that was R&B songs about girls in my high school. I played in some other indie bands who were trying to make it big; those sucked. Then I started Makeout Videotape and that was that.
I don’t have that much experience in the studio, but I’m always really uncomfortable when I’m there. You’re on the clock and it costs a lot of money.
I’m not really good at writing sad sappy ballads. In terms of the lyrics not matching the vibe of the music, that’s kind of the way my career has gone; everyone is a little confused about it all the time.
I like guitar. It just turned out that it’s the instrument I learned to play. I have a lot of respect for it and I’m learning more and more everyday.
You kind of have to be like ” What have you been working the last five years for? Why are you complaining?” It’s essentially me talking myself out of being a crybaby indie rock butthead.
