My Fans Are The Best. I Mean

My Dad Would Give Me $10, Which Is A Lot Of Money When You're 9, To Sing At Church, On Tables At Restaurants, At Family Functions, Just About Anywhere.

I'm Not Defined By Where I Came From. I Never Took Part In The Rules And Hatred That Sometimes Go Along With Religion. But If My Parents Are Happy With What They Believe, Then I'm Happy To Stay Out Of Their Way. We Agree To Disagree.

My Religious Upbringing Was Comically Strict — Even The Dirt Devil Vacuum Cleaner Was Banned. In Our House, No One Was Allowed To Refer To Deviled Eggs. We Had To Call Them Angelic Eggs. We Were Never Allowed To Swear. I'd Get Into Trouble Just For Saying 'hell No'. If You Dropped A Hammer On Your Toe In Our House You Had To Say Something Like 'jiminy Christmas'. The Only Music We Were Allowed To Listen To Was Gospel. No Wonder I Rebelled.

I Think People Appreciate A Songwriter Who Shows Different Sides. The Whole Angst Thing Is Cool, But If That's All You've Got, It's Just Boring. Everything I Write, Whether It's Happy Or Sad, Has A Sense Of Humor To It.

There Are Times I Go Out And Meet People And Flirt, But It's Not Really Appropriate To Have Anything Serious.