I got a little tattoo on my face, I'll never be able to work another real job so I consider that to be kinda forcing myself to stick to music.

3 years ago I was stocking shelves at Target, living on Ramen noodles, and crashing at Billy's house. Now I'm on tour

I hope my allergies don't act up

Don't let anyone make you feel like you're not good enough, smart enough or cool enough. Do your own thing.

Start enjoying the things you like about yourself, and if there are things you want to change, either get to work on it or get over it.

We want to give kids something to hope for. If one kid says, "Your cd helped get me through this year," that's all it takes.

Hard to find a better drug than a song you love.

There are some people i'd take a bullet for, and some people i'd like to put a bullet in.

Don't worry mom . I am still a virgin.

I need a little criticism while I make a record so that I kind of feel like: okay, I know that I'm doing the best that I can do because someone is actually here challenging it.

The whole time you're bouncing ideas off each other, you continue to try and push the songs as far as you can take them and make them the best that they can be.

Don't join the book burners. Don't think you're going to conceal faults by concealing evidence that they ever existed. Don't be afraid to go in your library and read every book...

Until I feared I would lose it, I never loved to read

On the brink of sleep I have a gloomy thought: that saving yourself is only pushing yourself even deeper into the trap rather than getting out. Dying is the only way out.

I'm not the one or two take guy, but I'm not the 20, 30, 50, 70 take guy either. If I do a bunch of takes, like more than five or six, it's usually for some technical reasons.

Stop looking outside for scraps of pleasure or fulfillment, for validation, security, or love - you have a treasure within that is infinitely greater than anything the world can offer.

On Earth, among millions of lineages or organisms and perhaps 50 billion speciation events, only one led to high intelligence ; this makes me believe its utter improbablity.

Death cannot alter facts - only feelings.

Your dressing area should be your private space.

Herman Brown was a businessman who wanted value for money spent. His relationships with politicians were measured by that criterion.

Pain has a way of clipping our wings and keeping us from being able to fly.