Fereydun, that's my dad's name. My grandmother, my dad's mom, when she was pregnant, she was dating a man from Persia, a Persian gentleman. It wasn't his child, but he was still very supportive and said, 'Hey, this is a great name,' and so it stuck. So that's what she named him.

My mom is from Venezuela, and my dad is German and Japanese, and we lived in Brazil when I was a kid for a couple of years, and then I grew up on Long Island. I think all the traveling and all the nationalities put that stuff in my head. I was just around it a lot.

All of my memories are now on hard drives. I'll change phones or I'll change my laptop, and all my photos stay.

Every day, I wanna work on being a better person, not just to others but to myself.

People on the street comment on how handsome I am. You know, people stop and say how angular my face is.

I see everything as a positive that can only help me.

When I used to see Rick Moranis do something, to me that was immediately funny. Or George Carlin or Martin Lawrence.

Talking Heads were a big influence on my comedy. For David Byrne, every album had to be different. With 'Portlandia,' every season has to be different. You gotta reinvent the look, all of it.

Before 'SNL,' I would do stand-up, opening for Jeff Tweedy. It was worse than bombing in that people were dead silent.

Panned or not, 'Dune' is a real part of science-fiction filmmaking.

My father came from Germany. My mom came from Venezuela. My father's culturally German, but his father was Japanese. I was raised in New York and spent two years in Rio. My parents met at the University of Southern Mississippi, and they had me there, and then we moved to New York. I'm not very familiar with Mississippi.

My favorite album is 'Ram' by Paul and Linda McCartney.

Wayne Coyne has put out Flaming Lips records in gummy bear skulls and all these different kinds of packaging that's really, really inventive. And that's what you should always do.

I enjoy getting to work on 'Saturday Night Live', where I get to do people like David Paterson. And then, its like a different muscle to do someone like a bicycle guy on' Portlandia'.

That's one of the great things about Los Angeles, that people just play music, and it's all very welcoming and welcomed.

Everyone knows deep in their hearts that the drums are the coolest instrument, and that a band is only as good as its drummer. So I'm all for drum solos. I'm all for drummers hamming it up. I'm all for drummers standing up and kicking over the kit.

When I first started going to Portland, people told me about Stumptown. They were like 'Oh, it's the best coffee,' and I thought, 'How good could it really be?' I'm like, 'Sure, great, uh... I'd love to see it.' But then when I went, it truly, I am not kidding, is the best coffee I have ever had.

The Long Island experience is so strange. You're a satellite around the city, so the presence of the city is always looming.

The day of parts of the country hating each other, or rivalries like that... I feel like that's dead.

I've met Tony Danza. He was really nice. And he looks... I feel like he hasn't aged. He looks exactly the same. He's just Tony Danza. He's exactly the same as he's always been.

There are bands that I am friends with, who will invite me up on stage. Like Les Savy Fav, who have had me on stage, and I have played on their record. There are a couple of bands like that. Yo La Tengo has invited me to play with them.

I feel bad for everyone I've gone out with.

I think I was a terrible husband, I think I'm a terrible boyfriend.

When you're being mean to someone, you can feel the audience just get cold.

When I'm hungry, I need to eat right away.

If something seems like a little venue, don't treat it like that. Do it all. If you're sort of wondering why you're doing something at some location, just do it - any size theater, production, or whatever. It's all helpful.

I try to maintain a high level of coolness. Which means I've gotta look at lot of magazines. I've gotta look at a lot of ads to see what people want to wear.

I will admit that I purposely stress myself out. But I think I like stressing myself out. There's a glamour to, like, 'I've got to get to the airport!' I just like the caricature.

I spent a lot of time lifting my drums into a van, playing to ten people night after night. I can't complain about anything now. That stuff was heavy.

I have an inability to relax. I try to make every day a work day. I get pleasure from work... I try to think of sketch ideas, stand-up pieces. I am incapable of leisure and leisure time.

I don't like watching shows where all of a sudden you're like, what happened? They shot the last season in Las Vegas?

Surround yourself with people you like and respect; surround yourself with people you just want to be around and keep making things.

Every music journalist I've ever met has been stunningly beautiful.

Art should not be an easy thing.

I work better when I'm juggling projects. Nothing worse than watching someone really embrace what they're doing if they love it too much.

El Perro del Mar sort of accompanied my time at 'SNL.' To concentrate and focus, I would play the bass to one of her songs from her third album.

I really like Au Revoir Simone.

Ever since I was really little, I started doing a - I don't know how to put this - mentally challenged person on my street. I meant no harm by it, but I remembered how this person talked, and I did it for my mom, and she was not into it. She said, 'You can't do that!' But my dad really laughed.

Over the years, El Perro del Mar became this artist that, every record that came out, I just loved it.

As far as value goes, obviously it's nicer to be in an environment where you feel comfortable. But it's also clear that it's probably not the most realistic thing.

I have the capability to have a close relationship with someone.

Music documentaries are tricky because of 'Spinal Tap.' That movie has stood the test of time.

Discomfort is the way to go if you want to make something you feel is worthwhile.

I came away from 'Saturday Night Live' feeling very well represented. I felt, and I still feel like, they let me do so much stuff that I wanted to do. Stuff that I almost didn't even know what it was.

I want it all... fast. I want to be married, I want to live together... and then somewhere around a year or two years, I get freaked out. I freak out emotionally and then I actually feel like 'Oh my God, who's this stranger in my house?'

I love 'Saturday Night Live,' and I really feel like people who have left before me have always stayed with the show. They never really quite left, which is nice. Everyone kind of stays close.

Steve Jobs was a real rock star to me. I looked forward to his products like people look forward to albums.

I'm so glad cities have personalities, just like people have personalities. That's something that makes me smile.

I'm drawn to punk. I'm drawn to samba a bit. I don't think there's a type of music I'm not drawn to. Lykke Li I really like. Holy Sons I still can't get enough of.

I can't relax. I'm not happy unless I'm working on stuff. 'SNL' is always a huge workload, as enjoyable as it is.