I was showing them stuff about music chords and theory. Then we'd teach them how to play lead, and do some Green Day and Red Hot Chili Peppers numbers by ear.

I wrote the songs pretty much on a guitar by myself, like normal. This time, though, I was writing with the live shows in mind.

Sometimes we have a jump rope. I didn't get one this time yet, but I'm starting to feel disgusting. So I think I might go ahead and get a jump rope soon.

Some of the lyrics come from stream-of-consciousness, and I used to spend a long time honing them into a narrative afterwards. Now I'm fine with keeping things more mysterious. I just let the words and images come to me, rather than direct them. You just have to try not to get lazy, and avoid clichés. There are a lot of things you have to throw away.

They're not pointless. I feel they have a place in my personal experience. Like, 'Lake Swimming' — I like the second verse of that song. It's just this dream world about swimming in a lake, but everyone swims in a lake. Everyone knows what that's like.

He's into music theory. Actually, he's composing stuff that's really nice, but he doesn't like it. But he's a really humble kid and even if he thinks it's really good, you won't hear him shooting his mouth off about it.