I don't like being told what to do.

The Richard Ashcroft of 1992 would have struggled to imagine the path my life has taken - he would be amazed at the changes in my song writing.

You know, rock n' roll's an old carcass: it's one big cliche. It's so difficult to do anything that has any sense of freshness or vitality or meaning. But that's what I'm trying to do, to give it new meaning.

Other kids would be playing with their Action Man, and I was questioning life and society.

When you go onstage, the process of getting you from the dressing room to the stage is all about ego.

Just because something's kinda indie and whatever and only a few people know it, it doesn't give it more authenticity over Rihanna's 'Work' work work.

Pop music might seem banal and simple to some people, but it's what it expresses that counts.

We all have our daily prescription of yoga, football, religion, or whatever gets us through that day. My thing is music. It's the only thing that gives me a sense of calm and balance. It's the thing I know I'm good at.

I'm not one of those freaks who can't see anything past 1977.

Life's about ego. So for someone to talk about my ego, as they are writing their piece about my ego, I'm wondering what they're doing with their ego?

George Best was my idol. I got a chance to meet him once.

The Grime guys have kind of rewritten the blueprint for people as far as creativity, songwriting, ownership, doing your own videos... So they're sending out a real positive message I think to people, that you can do it yourself in a punk way, and you can still potentially be successful and get to people.

My job is to make grown men cry, to blow people's minds and elevate them, make them transcend and unlock emotions that have been repressed by life, their job, situation - that's what I do.

If I was a painter, I would have hundreds of finished and unfinished canvases in my studio waiting for people to see, and it is the same with my music. I've got so many pieces of music and songs waiting to be heard.

I probably suffered from a narcissistic disorder in some way.

Some people have a God because they need faith, and that's fair enough.

You look at the Blur comeback, it was so smooth - so smooth - compared to The Verve.

I mean, my training at Oberlin has been absolutely valuable.

I really got into Gaelic music and the whole sound of it, and I got to go to Scotland.

We're not here as a black band playing white string band music. You know, we play stuff in the Appalachians, we play stuff in the white community, but we really highlight the black community's music.

I think that we definitely want to experiment, and if there's a hip-hop song that we like, we'll cover it. We don't want to be one of those bands that's like, you know, you know - Carolina Chocolate Drops does hip-hop. I mean, just know - you know, if it naturally works itself in, you know, cool.

I had this dream like years ago. I had this dream - I wanted to be in an all-black string band.

History is my biggest teacher.

So my mom's folks are from one side of Greensboro - and, you know, outside of Greensboro. And my dad's folks, the white side, is from another very small town outside of Greensboro. So both sides are coming from the country.