The Creative Independent

Listening to I’ve Got Nothing to Lose, and I’m Losing It, I was struck by how much wisdom is in these songs, especially “Cradle the Pain” and “Crystal Ball.” I hear a kind of hard-won realism. I’m curious whether those songs came from a place of knowing, or whether you w...

I’m curious about how you arrived at your style of painting?

I have a background in figurative painting and photo realism. When I first learned how to paint with oils, which was an indirect process of copying old master paintings, I was really interested in that high level of realism and refinement and naturalistic rendering. This was right before I s...

Is there a specific moment earlier on in your career that has affirmed your direction as an artist?

I guess what I can say is that I had an idea. Then, once I was playing live, I could see how people were reacting—and having sort of major reactions to what I was doing [with stage performances]. I think that motivated me and told me where people were a...

Your book [God I Feel Modern Tonight] does such a good job of capturing the fact that most of life’s saddest moments often butt up against absurdity. I’d like to hear what you were trying to do with this book. What experience did you want the readers to have?

How do you feed your creative self when you’re not writing?

I remember a few years ago I was hanging out with a friend, and he was very excited to take me to this bar. When I asked him why, he said, “Well, it’s got really great people watching, which I know you’ll love.” I had never really considered that before, because it wasn’t something that I was...