When I start playing I'm just a rollercoaster of sound. I don't know what's coming next, I never do, and I sit and sign and talk to the people afterwards.

My philosophy is the thicker the wood the thicker the sound, the bigger the string the bigger the sound. My smallest string is a 14 gauge.

My philosophy is that on a scale of 1 to 10, I will go to 15. No matter what!

As I'd go out learning to surf, I'd feel the power of waves coming over my body. It's like you're with God.

I first wrote for adults, but when I started writing for young people, it was the most creative and liberating experience of my life. I was able to express my own deepest feelings far more than I ever could when writing for adults.

I knew after my first lesson what I wanted to do with my life.

Like anyone who records music or writes a song, I thought, 'Wouldn't that be cool if someday I were able to do this for a living?' But it was such a fluke, and it really all took me by surprise and I just held on for dear life. I really wasn't prepared. I really went into it naively with no experience.

I learned about life before I went into the theater, which is why I've been so happy. I was a soldier.