Yeah, I can't separate the art from the music and the music from the art. I think that stems from going to school for film first, and kind of stumbling onto music as my career.

I'm not a quitter. I believe in following things through.

Bands that I've loved over the years are the ones that have a certain myth around them.

Working pretty much nonstop as an artist, the hardest thing is to know what to do with yourself when you have some time off. You struggle with yourself to take a vacation.

I try to sing whatever the music makes me feel. And we play so much music from the other records at shows that I hope no one will miss the old style too much.

Sophomore records are historically really difficult.

I feel like there's a hunger in the culture now for the live experience maybe as a counterpoint to the more sort of synthetic lives that we've been living.

For me, California is all about rest, relaxation, space.

It's insane how quickly everything's changed. I always feel like I'm running hard to catch up.

My onstage persona really is a persona, you know, and really the moment I step onstage, it kind of kicks into gear.

It's almost embarrassing how well-behaved I was, which is probably why I do things like spit water on myself onstage as an adult.

Be daring to push your ideas forward.

Being an idealist is not being a simpleton

In the course of crime ... the descent is rapid.

If you get the dirty end of the stick, sharpen it and turn it into a useful tool.

Technology brought in the mass media and technology is now taking it away.

There's always a little bit of personal satisfaction when you prove somebody wrong.

The whole f**king system is corrupt.

Tony Black is the Tom Waits of Crime Fiction, yes, that good.

Our first album was a stupid mistake by the record company. They tried to sell us as an alternative act. A big mistake!

Archaeology is not a science, it's a vendetta.