I try to write down every song that comes to me, even though I know that every song that comes to me isn't a song that I need to sing.

I don't marry bandmates just to go marrying bandmates.

I'm constantly being inspired by the old days and taking things from the past and allowing them to lift me up where I am now.

I feel a lot of cities are like, you go and you are trying to do your art, and there are so many other artists there who are so brilliant. And it's kind of like they stomp on the scene, and they are like, "You're not already Picasso? Get the hell out of here!" And Memphis is like, "Well, you'll get there one day!"

When I talk about music in Memphis, it's a place you can go if you are a beginning artist or anywhere in your career, and you can incubate.

If you're going to be stuck somewhere forever, you might as well be around good people!

Memphis held onto me until I was far enough along in my art and then it let me go.

I can't believe the ignorance there, so I don't allow it to affect my life, I don't allow it to come into my zone, and it's not in my world, really.

Even from when I was in grade school or church or wherever, I was always like: we're one, and we should respect each other and grow as one. And respect each other's diversity, of course.

I've always kind of been in the middle of every room, trying to get people together, no matter what color they were.