I think I've just matured over the years.

I grew up in a small, rural community, where my extended family were mountain-folk type people, and some were very religious.

Collaboration is part of what keeps me interested in music.

Talking about myself is difficult for me. It's anti my true nature.

It was really difficult to sing; nobody showed me how to do it. I remember early Screaming Trees shows in the '80s when I'd walk away with a pounding headache from trying to sing way out of my range.

I'm about creating a body of work and moving on to the next thing.

I've always been haunted by the devastating voice and beautiful songs of Tim Hardin. I can't imagine anyone hearing him and not feeling the same.

The Warriors team with Baron Davis, Matt Barnes, Stephen Jackson - that was an incredible team.

One of my very favourite poets was a Massachusetts poet named Robert Lowell.

I enjoy my own songs, but I can never love them in the way that I can love someone else's song.

I worked as a breakfast cook in a lot of different restaurants.

Yeah, well, I guess Andy Williams would be considered by some to be schmaltzy, but to me, he's one of the greatest singers of all time. Just absolutely amazing. And if anyone doesn't believe me, just YouTube him. He's just one of a kind.

I like to fool myself into thinking that whatever happens is OK.

I've had songs that were spread out over a number of years, and I've written some in ten minutes, and everything in between.

Usually I get asked to do stuff that's cool, and if I ever can't do something, it's usually, because of logistics, I don't have the time for it. Rarely do I get ask to do something that I'd rather not do. I usually do it if I feel that it's something I can do.

If I have one hero in music, it's John Cale.

'Gargoyle' was inching towards a more accessible record.

Me and Kurt Cobain were both listening to a bunch of Lead Belly and diggin' it. We thought, 'Let's do an EP of all Lead Belly songs.' We did a couple, and both of us were like, 'Nah, this is a bad concept.' We set it aside.

I was never super comfortable playing music in front of people anyway. Now I enjoy it, but it wasn't the easiest thing to get past.

I played 'Angry Birds' and tried to see what the hoopla was about.

I wanted 'Imitations' to be a fully realized record from start to finish, with a cohesive sound and a sequence that took you from one song to the other, just like I would with a record of original stuff.

I didn't always enjoy playing music with the Trees.

I enjoy watching basketball, yeah.

I prefer to stay in the here and now and move forward.

I think when people hear your music, sometimes they get deeply attached to it and think they know something about you, that you're kindred spirits or something.

When they're listening to your music all the time, you become part of their life, and some people get obsessed.

I just see what's in front of me. That's what I'm happy with.

Usually, I write the music and am involved in the production.

I've always said everything happens the way it's supposed to.

It isn't important to me how people respond to my work.

I'm open to life.

I would only tell a story if I was being mercilessly heckled. That's the only time I would talk to the audience.

I enjoy the songs that I write, but I can never enjoy them the same way as other peoples' songs.

It's always fun to play songs by somebody else.

If Brian Eno wanted to make a record, I'd definitely clear some time in my calendar. John Cale, too. Those guys consistently make great records, always doing their own thing.

What do I look for in a collaborator? Pretty much anyone who asks me to do something.

We've made records for years on a shoestring.

In real life, I'm far more lighthearted than I come across on the records.

The guys who spend their time brooding in their younger years either lighten up or go away.

You just realize that you don't know everything there is to know. The older I get, the less I know, and that's a good thing. When I was young, I knew everything, and everything wasn't necessarily good.

Hanging out with the Trees is like hanging out with your family, and I hardly ever see my family.

It's a lot easier to let someone else be Caesar.

I've never been in charge. I'm just a lazy bastard.

There's lots of singers that I love; I don't know if I used any of them as role models. Maybe I would have been a better singer when I started if I had.

Naturally, if I'm singing over really loud music, my approach is gonna be different than if I'm singing over some quiet acoustic music.

It's a different kind of satisfaction, different kind of enjoyment than making your own songs, to remake someone else's song that you really like.

I try and treat songwriting as something that I have to practise every day.

I think there's something therapeutic in singing about anything, whether it's what you've written or whether it's someone else's song. I find both satisfying in different ways.

I just sort of do what comes natural.

I'm trying to learn how to read. I have a tutor out on the road. It is great.