I didn't just work at a hardware store. I went to college for a second, and I worked there on breaks or during the summer.

Writing-wise, I started when I was 17. Whatever was bothering me, I could just write about it in a song. I was in the west suburbs of Chicago, then I moved an hour south, and then I went to school up on the South Side - Saint Xavier, though I was at Purdue for a second before I dropped out.

The fellow that owns his own house is always just coming out of a hardware store

That is something I've worked on all summer long. You take one or two dribbles and float it up. It takes less than two seconds, so it was perfect.

I went to Atlanta this summer and worked out with some of my buddies who were training for the NFL Draft. It was really helpful to get to learn some things from professional players.

Dante didn't work out, and then we found Ryan. He worked at a comic, record and toy store in Fremont.