Stevie

70's Stevie Nicks: Stone cold fox and amazing lyricist. I'm crushing. 

M. Ward

M. Ward is a huge influence on me. Not only in the way he writes, but the way he produces his music. He refuses to record digitally, everything he records is all old school analog. There is no way I could record that way but I respect him for trying to take us back to a simpler time, and in my opinion it works. I love how I can feel the desert on "Ella," my favorite song on End of Amnesia. I try to mimic his production ideas with every song I record. He's got an incredible style I wish I would have happened upon first. So good. 

Kings of Leon

Yeah they're popular right now, I don't care. They made a great album and it's actually being played on the radio amongst all the crap. I would rather hear Sex on Fire than Do you know your enemy any day. 

Wes Anderson

This is just a Wes Anderson American Express commercial but I think it's brilliant just like all Wes Anderson movies. I find a lot of humor, emotion and inspiration in everything he does. He's kind of like Elliot Smith, you have to be in the mood. His films are like holidays and I'm in the mood.

    

You're gonna lose that girl

This is a scene from "Help" one of those crazy Beatles movies. I love how they're in this dark smokey studio, I want to record in some dark smokey studio. Most of this movie is strange and confusing but it still intrigues me. Half the time they were filming it they were on drugs, maybe that's why it is so interesting. The truth is I could care less what they were on everything they touched turned to gold. They created the mold by which every musician lives by, you can quote me on that. To say I dig em would be an understatement. 

Kenneth Cole New York

These are my Kenneth Cole New York oxford dress shoes (A.K.A. My John Lennons). Made in Italy with italian leather inside and out. I wear a size 12 but these are size 11 and they fit snugly to my feet as if they are painted on. These dudes make me feel good about myself so I wear them every show I play. It has become sort of a superstitious thing. If they weren't on my feet every monday night 8 O'clock at Cafe Muse on Santa Monica Blvd. I know it wouldn't feel right. I don't dare test the waters without em. Most of the time I record in them. Call me crazy but I think they release the creative juices. I dig em. 

Colorado

Being away from home for so long makes you appreciate it that much more. Only in Colorado can I live on Trout Creek Circle off of Mountain View and see Long's Peak from my back yard. It's so nice to have some place to come back to and even nicer that the place to come back to is Colorado. I will love it for the rest of my life. It inspires me. I dig it. 

Van Gogh

Everyone knows Van Gogh's Starry Night and Cafe Terrace at Night which are both incredible. He is one of the most well known artists out there, I mean you can buy a Starry Night poster at Hobby Lobby. Sadly it has gotten to a point where anything popular and well known is no longer cool. This is what's called indie. But doesn't Van Gogh deserve to be popular? I think so. All the guy wanted to do in his life was paint. He spent all his money on art supplies and lived off his brother most of the time. Sometimes I wish I had the artistic drive he had. I took this picture of The Church at Auvers-sur-Oise at the Musee d'Orsay in Paris in 2004. This was one of the last paintings he did. My favorite colors are gray and black. This dude introduces color into my life. I dig im. 

The Last Shadow Puppets

I love a good side project. I don't know if its something in the water, but I love the way chaps from across the pond think. Everything from jolly old England seems to appease my senses. The Last Shadow Puppets are one of those things. I dig em. 

THE ZOMBIES!!!

Music is so much more than sound. If it makes any sense, music is just as aesthetically pleasing as it is sonically. The Zombies are a 60's band that have been dominating my mentality. Agree with me or not, we live in a time where all we have left to do in music is to mimic. The Zombies have this affect on me. I dig em.