Evan Dando

When I write a song, it's all about the riff - the riff first, then the words come later.

See, to me, rock'n'roll doesn't have any point. It's just fun. It has a million different angles and they're all valid. But I think rock might be a world issue.

You know more about me than I do about myself, that's probably true.

Even the bands I dig don't have a history of attaining mass consumption.

I used to have a sort of spiky haircut and it just feels better to have short hair again.

Basically, between 1989 and 1994, I hadn't taken a vacation.

Rock stars wanting to write is even worse than wanting to act in movies, right?

But Sneaky Pete was great. I didn't bug him about Gram. Not too much, anyway.

For me, it's all about The Dubliners by James Joyce. I love The Dead.

I've got time, I hope, to make lots of quiet records. So quiet you won't be able to hear them.

CDs, too. Totally corporate. They look real cheap and soulless and they don't smell of anything.

I lie around and play guitar, that's something I do for sure. In fact that's all I do, I think.

It is hard, though, 'cos record labels love to boss you around. I won't let them do that anymore.

I don't write down my experiences, but I have a very decent memory. I have tons of books in which I write down phrases as they occur to me. That's how I write songs. I'll need a line and I'll go through the books and find it, the right rhyme and everything.

Since Elizabeth, I certainly live a healthier lifestyle.

It's better when you have your wife with you, more fun.

My high-school dream was to be in a band, pay my rent and eat - and I've been able to do that for 20 years. So I'm completely content.

I was trying to spend it as quickly as possible. Because I'm so lazy, all that money created a block. I was flying around the world, staying at fancy hotels, having fun and trying to get rid of it as quickly as possible, so I could get on with some more work.

Some of our stuff ends up looking too corporate. I'm going to be a lot stricter from now on.

I need the money. People don't understand how little money you make in a band.

I guess I'm about ready to promote myself in a more human way. I don't feel quite so insecure.

I'd forgotten what it was like to play music and have it be fun so I decided to stop. I wasn't even sure if I was going to make a new record, I was just kinda quitting.

When there are no women on the tour it can get awful and ugly - constant horrible jokes and gross behaviour. It needs to be leavened with a feminine presence.

But ya have to make videos in the States. Usually ours just look too serious. We haven't got it together.

When I was 14 years old, I was a huge fan of the Velvets, the Stooges and the Modern Lovers. They are my three favourite bands. I never get sick of 'em.

The best songs I write in 20 minutes.

I was hanging out with Jonathan Richman last night.

I don't like alcohol, but I still like to mess around with other stuff occasionally. I think it's important I take mushrooms and acid. They're certainly not addictive, so I can't rule that out.

I have to make rock records occasionally.