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It's a unique thing to stand in front of a crowd and sing your songs.

When I am singing, I believe that if I respect the public, then they will respect me, and I know it. It's noticeable.

You've got a song you're singing from your gut, you want that audience to feel it in their gut. And you've got to make them think that you're one of them sitting out there with them too. They've got to be able to relate to what you're doing.

At first, I wasn't really keen on the idea of me being on stage having to sing in front of people.

I think of a band like Animal Collective where they really follow their own sound and I think that's a really important thing to do. You can find an audience if you can find your voice.

I don't think shoving my butt into people's faces will tell them anything about who I am. How is that connecting to your audience? What is that doing for your music?

Stand-up don't get no respect - it's the hardest thing to do in show business. You don't have no band and there's no music.

My approach is so simple; every song I sing, every story I tell, every move I make, must move the audience to laughter, tears, or inspiration. Otherwise, why do it? It's the communication.

That's the perfect audience: singing along to every word, knowing the songs, appreciating the non-hit songs, stuff like that.

The audience, they're not professionals. They just love music. It isn't necessary to play over their heads to be admired.