Just so people know, the Silverlake Conservatory of Music is not at all about celebrity or fame or being a star. It's an academic music school.

I studied music at the most remedial level when I was a kid, through the Los Angeles public schools, with a little private instruction.

When I'm at home, I just run all the time, you know; I get up, and I go pretty much four days a week outdoors. I go in the canyons around L.A., Malibu - just around L.A. there's a lot of different spots.

We were these arty punks from Hollywood. I considered myself an intellectual.

All I knew about Ethiopia was from a few records that I like, as well as what I read about the famine. But you get there and it's another world. It's filled with art and music and poetry and intellectuals and writers - all kinds of people.

The most important thing to me with any politician is that they don't start wars, but education is a big part of that, too, because educated people are less likely to do stupid, violent things.

For me it's the high-water mark of American culture - not so much contemporary jazz, which has become kind of academic, but the jazz from the '20s on through the '70s.

I grew up being terrified of my parents, particularly my father figures.

Bands develop their own weird ways of doing things.

When I was in school, you could pick any instrument you want, and they'd teach you how to play it. That changed my life. I loved playing music in school, and it sent me on my path as a musician.

I feel like if we're not running, we're basically disrespecting our bodies. When you're running, you're really using your body for what it's meant to do.

My father was out of my life when I was pretty young - when I was 7 years old, he was gone. I didn't see him for the rest of my childhood.

I always thought I was a pretty terrible actor.

I'm a performer and have managed to get my performing into the mainstream consciousness of the world, I guess.

I worked full time jobs, basically doing manual labor until I could make enough money supporting myself as a musician.

The last thing that should happen is funding cut for education; it should be increased. We need to put more money towards education, and anything else is abusive.

We were at the dark end of the L.A. punk scene, and that scene was full-on and violent and aggressive and wild and intense.

I got my love of jazz from my stepfather, who was a jazz musician.

I was raised to think that rock was music for ignorant people who didn't think for themselves.

When something comes up, and it's interesting, and I have the time, I'll do it.

With acting, I always feel conscious of what I'm doing.

The apparatus has to serve our improbability and improvisation. Being good and playing the songs is not enough.

I exercise; I have a big career. I'm a parent, and I run a music school.

I just lucked into this weird, little obscure cameoesque film career. I just love being a part of film history.

All my career, all that I've really done has been based on emotion and intuition and gravitating toward what sounds good.

I did record a bunch of stuff, but the thing that usually stops me from doing that is that I'm a terrible singer. I made a bunch of instrumental music, and it feels really good, but just as a singer, I'm not good.

Lucky enough, through the public school system, I had been able to have some music education, and that gave me something to focus on, and discipline - like a family to feel part of. There was a healthy family.

Being a rock star isn't all it's cracked up to be, let me tell you.

When I first heard about Twittering, I thought it was the most disgusting thing I'd ever heard of in my life. It's like the devil: the idea that your personal life is there for everybody.