Alex Ebert

There are many examples of great songs that become more famous when they are covered.

Popular music usually has a chorus that needs to repeat, and people need to remember the song. That's sort of the major guideline when you're writing a song.

The album is a thing that you can hang out with between shows. I think that it's really nice to give people something they can enjoy in a private situation or walking around, just as the soundtrack of their lives.

It's not that I want to necessarily avoid my darker moments, but I don't capitalize them and put a crown on them and tote them around as the answer anymore.

It took me a long time to be alright with smiling onstage.

At its best, a live show is completely transcendent. The image I get is breaking through glass or shooting out into the free zone.