I had just lost my dad and I remembered all the songs we used to go and hear at concerts and the records around the house and sometimes we'd play together.

My mom and dad played this music all the time when I was growing up so to me songs by Jerry Lee and Fats Domino are the classics they're the best songs ever.

I think I had kind of an advantage. When I was growing up my dad had just got out of jail and he had a great record collection. He had - it was all - these were the songs. So I heard a lot of these songs like my whole life so for me it was easy. I already knew what I was going to sing.

My dad was a huge country music fan but he also had a band and he sang. So he'd listen to a lot of music and the songs that he'd learn for the band were more from the male artists. So my earliest country memories were Waylon Jennings Conway Twitty George Jones Johnny Paycheck even.

I have four shelves covered with journals that I've written. Dad and I are writing songs together. I've probably written 100 songs.

Courage: Great Russian word fit for the songs of our children's children pure on their tongues and free.

I feel like my music is just an extension of my acting. I treat the songs like scenes that tell a story... it's very similar. My favorite thing is when cartoon fans show up to my live gigs! They are always the most kick-butt audience members 'cause they're not trying to act all cool like a lot of the music fans do! It's refreshing!!

I think some people record songs and make records a certain way to cater to radio. If you're born to make commercial music that's cool. But if you're born to not make commercial records maybe you're meant to cater to another market.

I was asked to do a test commercial shoot for an Apple product which didn't mean much to me at the time. Some music player that holds all your songs. Sounded cool to me and I never gave up an opportunity to work especially with the possibility of it turning into a national commercial. Coolest job I did in that time.

I really love rap music. I grew up in the '80s and '90s with Public Enemy N.W.A. LL Cool J - I'm a hip-hop encyclopedia. But I got kind of frustrated with the chauvinistic side of rap music the one that makes it hard to write songs about love and relationships.