Quotes from Albert Hammond, Jr.

I'll write lines or words in a notepad. You work on little things and little parts; sometimes they turn into bigger songs.

Guided By Voices was huge when I was 16. Then I got into the Beatles, then classical music, Beethoven.

The way the press works, people don't like to review or talk about EPs. It's considered, 'Why don't you just wait for the record?' But for someone who's creating, and the audience, they can get material quicker. I almost feel like putting out a few songs every couple months might be better than putting out an album every year or two.

My idea was you can't dress for the stage, you have to dress all the time like you're onstage. And so I would just always wear suits or some form of it. I wanted people to know I played music. That was kind of how you would find other people: you would just walk around looking a certain way and end up meeting someone who liked the way you look.

I like rock music that has melody, but it also makes you wanna get up and dance.

Sometimes you wanna be James Bond, and sometimes you wanna be Marlon Brando until you realize you can't be either!

When you put on music, just feel it; it's a different sense. I walk around with music in and it can just change my world in seconds.

I feel like my strength is surrounding myself with people who have an ear for things, and then they play it for me. I'm always looking; my ear is always open.

After boarding school in Switzerland, at, like, 14 or 15, my life clicked, and I just realized, 'I don't want to be like anyone around me at my school. I don't think the world revolves around money.'

That's the purpose of creative stuff: when you really love what you do, you have to know at some point, or points, you're not going to be good at it. That's just the process of learning. I can edit it and try to be as perfect as I can, but I'm still going to have my vulnerable spots and my weaknesses.

Ties were always my thing. When I was 18, on Sunday, when everyone was taking off for a casual day, I'd wear a suit to go have brunch.

My personality can be extreme in all ways, even in positive ways; I've learned that.

I feel like that's what being creative is: It's you bouncing with emotion and what you capture in those bounces. Accept where you are and use it.

I grew up with The Beatles, Bob Marley and Talking Heads. I like the melody-with-rhythm aspect of music - there's so much to discover still.

Over time, naturally, you lose your innocence from gaining knowledge. You can't be innocent forever, but there's something in innocence you need to regain to be creative.

I do believe in 'forever' in terms of relationships. There's something really amazing about being with someone for a long time and really knowing each other in that way. They end up becoming your closest friend.

I was raised to respect women, and I really like them to be strong, independent, and have their own identity. My parents are still together, and I grew up with a lot of love, and I feel that kids imitate what they have at home.

Things that excite me are these four different bands: Wire, with a song called 'Champs,' Misfits, with a song called 'Hybrid Moments,' R. Stevie Moore, and Wipers 'Wait A Minute.'

I actually use women's perfume - I have since I was a kid. It's called Anais Anais, from Rachael. It smells like a beautiful woman and a bouquet of flowers. I use that and Right Guard deodorant.

There are different people who got me into music, but what I liked about Beethoven is that even when I didn't understand it or it was too long, there's still something about it that drove me to it. Then it got me excited about actually learning music, like a theory of it.

I think that's one of the greatest gifts you get if you're successful at something like music or film or photography - any of the arts - you can sit there and think. It's so much fun to sit there and think and wonder about the world and the universe.

The weird thing is, I used to skate in front of, like, 5,000 people and I was never nervous, but the first time I got on stage, there were four people there and I vomited.

Carl Sagan's 'Pale Blue Dot' is where I got the title 'Momentary Masters.'

You watch movies and see bands you like and copy them and see what you can hold. I mean, it's all down to how you hold what you wear.