I don't really like talking too much about myself, but I have this feeling that it's all clicking for me. It's all coming together.
When I first joined with Murphy, I had to make a character change. I wasn't confident in myself about that at all, but I remember my mom telling me that once something clicks with me... I had to... come in and kick the door down and let everyone know who I am.
I can't tell you how many times I've been writing and then found myself seven clicks deep into a Wikipedia entry that I don't even care about. Self-distraction appears to be my version of sleepwalking.
I sounded like myself. People be saying I sound like Miles or Clifford Brown.
Musically, I always allow myself to jump off of cliffs. At least that's what it feels like to me. Whether that's what it actually sounds like might depend on what the listener brings to the songs.
I remember, even in college, reading Cliffs Notes about a book and thinking to myself, 'Geez, that sounds like a good book. I should probably read it.'
I don't regard myself as a cracking good climber. I'm just strong in the back. I have a lot of enthusiasm, and I'm good on ice.
The doctor I would want for myself or for anyone else I cared about would be one who understands that disease is more than just a clinical entity; it is an experience and a metaphor, with a message that must be listened to.
I was never a troublemaker, but I also was never a nerdy kid. I was never a cool kid or a sports kid. At lunchtimes, I never fit in with any cliques, so I'd end up just walking around the school by myself, listening to music.
I can't stand being late. I try to be professional. I try not to let people down. But people let me down. That's why I don't rely on anyone to call me. That's why I have clocks as well as people. I have to be able to call myself; it's the only way to be sure.
I wish, mainly, that I could have a job and work all the time and also not have to leave my kids. If there was a way to clone myself and be at every parent-teacher meeting and be there to put my kids to bed every single night and also star on Broadway, that's what I would do.
Early in my career, I didn't want to disappoint my colleagues, clients, or family. So I said yes to everything. This ended up raising my stress level and shortchanging everyone else - including myself - because I couldn't give anyone 100 percent of my time, nor could I pay close attention.
A close friend of mine described me as a radical pragmatist. I embrace this no-nonsense distinction wholeheartedly. It is a character trait that matches the sense of myself I've had from as far back as I can remember. I am not one who goes in much for magical thinking. I don't believe in destiny, fate, or things like divine guidance, either.
This 'Making Mirrors' album is far more personal, even if there's a character element to the sounds I'm working with. Every song on this album I stand behind; I feel like I have a close relationship with them. There are older songs where I can feel myself writing a story, so this is the first album where I'm proud of every lyric.'
I know now that most people are so closely concerned with themselves that they are not aware of their own individuality, I can see myself, and it has helped me to say what I want to say in paint.
I'm considering 'Dark Souls 3' to be the big closure on the series. That's not just limited to me, but From Software and myself together want to aggressively make new things in the future.
I have this fear of clowns, so I think that if I surround myself with them, it will ward off all evil.
One thing I'm not doing in my older age is explaining myself to culturally clueless white people.
I really work on paying attention to the clues my self is giving myself. For instance, I think of myself in the third person. That allows me to manage myself better.
When I come to Chicago, I gorge myself. I get off the plane and start with Gene and Jude's for two hot dogs with everything, swing by The Fudge Pot for a taffy apple and a turtle, chocolate clusters at Sarah's Pastries and Candies and steak at Smith and Wollensky. I find time for Gino's pizza within the next 12 hours.
