For me, it's about eating a bunch of fruit and exercising, which opens up the creativity, makes it easier to give ideas a chance and bubble to the surface. I'm no angel, but it helps me, as does hiking, heading to the ocean to catch some waves - for me, sweating it out is definitely good for the creative process.

I've written songs about love or about a relationship, but never just, 'I love you.'

I've done some stuff with Glenn Danzig before, and while I can't really say that we're friends, we're friendly acquaintances.

With Alkaline Trio, we are who we are. We never really feel too confined, but when we get together, there is an Alkaline Trio sound, and when I go off and do something on my own, there is an element of freedom that I don't have with the Trio.

I first heard of Ulver reading the 'Lords of Chaos' book.

I grew up on Edgar Allen Poe, and I loved Alfred Hitchcock's movies.

I think people hear the words 'transcendental meditation' and 'paganism,' and that's almost worse because it's real. Those are real things. Those are absolute energies. Satanism is like Halloween. Transcendental meditation and having a realization of how we really are - whether we want to be or not - we live in a pagan culture.

Being on Epic, it wasn't like we got signed to a multi-million-dollar deal.

The Sekrets record is very much me, and Dan's Emergency Room is very much him. And then Alkaline Trio is very much ours.