GOING OUT

1. You're a highly prolific songwriter—where do you get your inspiration and where do you feel most inspired?

My songwriting is a very mysterious process. The whole thing is really wild and difficult to analyze. After 21 years of playing guitar, of trying to understand what inspires my proclivity for writing, I gather that I write most when I feel balanced, healthy and strong... I do a lot of yoga and run around like a kid. Staying in a state of curiosity, possessing an inclination to learn, to continue to grow musically and personally, these are the tools I think that end up yielding music... I work to keep myself emotionally available, to not become callous or exhausted, to stay compassionate and generous, to make room for failure and successes... All in all, though, I think that I can't really control it, it comes on its own and I try just to be available for the possibility of creativity. It is the most tender expression of living, for me, to be in the relationship of musician/music. I am just thankful for music more and more each day.

2. You have toured all over the world; where is your favourite place to perform and how do the people react to your music from place to place?

Well there is so much of the world I know nothing about, where I haven't played music nor traveled. But regardless of where I am geographically, my favorite places to perform are places with natural acoustics, like old churches or caves and in unusual spaces. I love to play my guitar acoustically, because the overtones and the subtleties are the most important part to me. I like to play in places where the ambiance inspires me, where the people who operate the venue are friendly and invested in the arts, where people can be comfortable, relax and listen. I've never enjoyed much to play in really loud bars with smoke in my face. I would never write music in those spaces, so it feels strange to play music in places like that. I am happy that there are more and more venues being created for real music listening, where people can be comfortable. I just played a little show in the South of France and I like that I played right on the sea as the sun set, beautiful. I have enjoyed playing in Europe these months because I really enjoy the quality of appreciation for the arts, in general, that I've encountered.