If You Always Want To Look Relevant,

I've Honestly Always Been An Overly Analytical, Highly Observant Person. I Was Playing Music But Thinking About It At Same Time, Which Was Sort Of Exhausting. Aside From The Pain Of Writing - You're Not Really In A Gang Like You Are In Band, It's A Little Bit Lonelier - I Think It Was Always Something That I'd Wanted To Do. So The Transition Wasn't Abrupt Or Painful.

After Sleater-kinney Broke Up In 2006 I Had Very Little Desire To Play Music. It Took Well Over Three Years Before Picking Up A Guitar Meant Anything To Me Other Than An Exercise.

To Me, Curiosity Is Married To Optimism. And That's Where A Lot Of My Motivation Comes From. A Lot Of My Way Out Of Depression And Anxiety Is That Intersection Between Optimism And Curiosity. Because It Means Taking A Step Forward With The Hope That There Will Be Discovery.

There Was This Kind Of Wackiness That Was Really Embraced And Put On A Pedestal. It Was Before The Millennium. We Were Envisioning A Future That Was Mostly Idealistic. I Think That Came Crashing Down A Little Bit In 9/11, Or A Lot. There Is Something About Portland That Does Seem To Still Exist In This Total Idealistic World And Total Idealistic Mind Frame, And I Think That's What Dream Of The '90s Is Talking About.

When I'm Cynical, I Seek Out Bands That Are Fully Participating And Trying To Push Something Forward. Or I Can Just Start Playing Music Again - Which Is Happening With A New Project. But I Think It's Always A Challenge To Overcome Cynicism And Not Get Bogged Down By A Sense Of Nostalgia. That Can Be Such A Stifling Feeling.