Lights
You can't go with the intention of writing something inspirational. You just have to go with the right heart.Collection: Inspirational
I think one of the biggest lessons I continue to learn is having humility and being thankful for what you have because everything's a grind and it doesn't get easier.Collection: Thankful
I'm not good at talking politics. I'm probably not well-versed enough to speak out, but I do have my opinions and my feelings and frustrations, especially with regards to the environment and sustainability and our lack of taking care of what we have.Collection: Politics
Learning how to center and control anger, fear, sadness, weakness and learning how to channel that into something smart, cerebralizing it, meditating on it and then moving into it with wisdom - that's important.Collection: Anger
Nothing's handed to you on a silver platter. Everything takes work, no matter how many records you put out.
It's nice to pretend we could lead a normal life!
Growing up, I was always blown away by 'Star Trek' and 'Barbarella' and 'Logan's Run.' The retro sci-fi thing.
Getting to be a musician for ten years is very different from being a musician for a year. You get different stories, and have a different connection with the fans after ten years.
I find that when you grow and evolve with music, the music understands you, and vice versa - whether or not the creator of that music knows.
I can't be like, 'This week I'm going to be a musician, and next week I'm going to be a mom.' It has to be a little bit of everything, every day, all of the time.
I think there's this standard in our society that when we become a mother, we just become a mother, and that's all you are. That's an amazing thing, but I think you're doing your child a disservice by not following your dreams either. I work really hard to make sure that I'm chasing all the things I always dreamed of.
I'm kind of obsessed with laser guns.
I think Warped Tour's bringing something special to me.
I don't have musical theory or great chord knowledge, but what I have got me where I am.
It was so freeing to branch out and work with people like Josh Dun of 21 Pilots who played on 'Savage' and 'Almost Had Me.'
The comic hobbyists world is so passionate about the details and the lore and the more you get into that, the more interesting it is for you.
I'm such a geek.
I sleep in a bunk bed because my studio's under it. It's like a loft bed.
I'm very into superhero culture and stuff like that, so I always think on very epic terms.
Like everybody, you get nights where you feel completely depressed. You start thinking about all the bad things and think about the glass half empty - instead of half full. There's no explanation for it.
Our down time at home consists of hikes and video games and trying to cook - because we are awful at it.
An upbeat song, for example, means one thing, but when you hear it with really vibey, mellow ambience around it, suddenly the same words may mean something else. Music is so powerful that way: It dictates and soundtracks our moods.
One of the ways that I discovered my confidence and my ability to overpower is becoming a mother. Suddenly, my world wasn't about myself anymore.
Love is so much more than gender: You fall in love with a person.
There are times where you don't think you can be one of those strong women. You're not one of the leaders right? But that doesn't mean you're not. And that doesn't mean you're not a trailblazer.
It is really hard to write something high-energy and upbeat on acoustic guitar.
I got signed to a development deal when I was 15. That fell through after about a year when the company merged with another label. Then I got picked up by Sony publishing. So I was writing professionally from 16 to 18. Then I started making my own records.
When I was younger it was a lot of quantity over quality. Just writing, writing, writing. Hundreds of songs. Now it's fewer songs. If I write 10 songs I believe 80 percent of them are good and gonna be used.
I was in bands all through my youth. Things started out more acoustic and then piano ballads. Then R&B followed by sappy pop music and then rock, punk and heavy metal.
I used to play music at home, and now I'm playing for thousands of people.
You should write songs about what you feel, but you can't write in such a way like it's a diary entry. You should write it in a way that people understand in their lives.
I love getting online and looking at people's responses to things and communicating with everyone.
I've grown in a lot of ways - as a musician, as performer, as a songwriter.
If I met the right girl, I could easily fall in love.
The way things are today, people need to talk about mental health and need to be open about it.
Now that I have a daughter, I notice what's marketed to young women.
We need to re-evaluate what we market to our kids.
Young girls aren't marketed science-y stuff, or techy stuff, or even musical stuff.
Role models are important and if you see it you can be it.
I can really identify with the content that I read in comics.
Having toured a lot really influences some of the decisions you make in the studio - is this part anthemic enough for people to want to sing to it at a show? is this part dynamic enough? Is this drum beat 'arena' enough? You think about it a lot when you are creating, for sure.
You can get a rut where you think you need to create something that sounds like a certain thing - especially with pop music.
Pop music is actually a challenging genre. Not only do you have to be artistically expressive, but you also have to do that in a very strict format. I've always liked that challenge, but it's very easy to slip into something non-creative. You just have to stay inspired all the time.
There are no rules. And there are no boundaries in terms of where your imagination can take you. That is so necessary for music.
Being a performer and recording artist and playing 'World of Warcraft' - that's a pretty time-intensive combination.
When I'm at home, I get what I need to get done during the day and reward myself with a little 'WoW' time at night. Some people read a book before they go to bed.
Games have fascinated me my whole life, starting with 'PacMan' on my uncle's PC. I moved up to classic Super Nintendo and then on to N64, and then XBox, DS and 'WoW.'
There is something empowering about being a female warrior to me.
I remember when I would write a song as a kid, I would also write out on paper what the drums would do, what the bass would do, and what the vocals would be doing.
I hate listening to things quietly. If I'm going to listen to something and fully enjoy it, I want the volume all the way up. That, for me, is a good immersive experience.