There was a show at the Mayan in Los Angeles where I got overly enthusiastic and jumped into the crowd, and I know they weren't thrilled about that. When I got offstage the manager told me not to do that again. I said, 'Really, for my own safety?' And he said, 'No, because the Pixies don't do that.'
I've got too much fire in my blood.
All the best bands have to have more than just one strong songwriter.
I had heard a live show, where my voice didn't sound the way I wanted to hear it and I got paranoid. I'm not an amazing singer, I just belt it out in this crappy old way, but for a while I had it in my head that I couldn't sing.
The one thing about songwriting that's been consistent is that I do it for the love of a good melody.
You can tell a dumb guy a mile away.
The Pandoras began as a '60s punk group. Then they went pop, then metal. When they went metal, I quit because I hate heavy metal music and I wanted to write my own songs.
One thing I learned is that I don't want to be in an all-girl band again. Besides, most of my friends are guys, anyway.
I'm a basically decent person.
The Beatles were a huge influence on me to write really good melodies.
I really like the cute Beatles, the beginning. I don't really like the moustached Beatles very much. And then the hippie Beatles I'm not super-thrilled with, although they had good songs.
People say I sound a lot like the Ramones and it's probably because I'm influenced by the same '60s groups, but I was never a strict Ramones fan.
Honestly, it's hard to play with a lot of intensity night after night.
I have that weird thing where, if someone confronts me, I just get as bold as possible.
Heavy metal is the enemy. Everybody but me keeps going back and forth between metal and punk, but I'm narrow-minded and a purist. I'd never mess with it.
When people hear sing-songy melodies, they think the lyrics will be nice, too. I guess there's a depressing or psychotic side to my personality that pops out in the lyrics.
I was going through a lot of upheavals in my brain. The only way I could really get stuff out was to write songs.
I hate it when songwriters go on and on with the same idea.
I like inventive melodies and chord changes, a little bit of creativity.
For a show, I can bear a little longer than 45 minutes, not including encores.
