I felt in my life very suffocated and smothered by my circumstance. Your life becomes what you believe. I was living in a house with my mom and my younger brother and we were all sharing rent and wasn't really making rent. Didn't get to eat, I scrape

Reality wins, and I'd rather see the truth than stay in love with a fantasy.

I've had mentors who were kind of the troubadour singer-songwriters, like Merle Haggard, Loretta Lynn, Joni Mitchell, Bob Dylan and Neil Young, and that's just what I've always liked - people who would talk real honestly about their lives and their circumstance.

Love bravely, live bravely, be courageous, there's really nothing to lose.

Once you are successful, there's a very seductive rhythm at work that keeps you wanting to outdo yourself. By the end of 'Spirit' I felt like I didn't want to get into that trap. It almost makes you cartoon-like.

My innocence is not lost—it has been converted into wisdom. The sensation we call "breaking" is the pain that comes from resisting the truth. Life broke parts of me that needed to fall away for me to live an open and truthful life.