Anonymous asked: I want to be a musician but my mom wants me to go to grad school so I can have financial stability. What do I do? I want the stability yeah, but I'm afraid of not being as happy as I could be in the end.

I’ve been asked this type of question so many times and it always concludes, at least in my mind, in how much strength you have to disagree with the order of life.

I’ve been in bands since I was twelve, I graduated from highschool at fifteen, went to design school for a semester and dropped out because I was ditching daily to record in a friend’s loft down the street from the campus. I just couldn’t do it. I couldn’t commit myself to the college system. I’ve never had a normal job. I’ve always survived off music or have done projects to make enough money to support expanding it.

I’ve been doing this for twelve years and I wouldn’t take back a single second. I’m not where I want to be but that’s part of it. You learn patience and you learn how to ignore money being the motivation. I make enough money now to do what I want to do and sure, I’d love to make enough to keep doing this for the rest of my life and I intend to.

A lot of people are happy with living life to make enough money to support a family and to keep this whole cycle going. Millions of people, actually.

But, there are some out there who want to make a dent with art. You want to put something into the universe that’s never been there before in order to create relief for someone else. 

You do need money but the second you’re living life only for it, you’re one with millions who are doing the same and from what I can tell, it doesn’t achieve any sort of happiness or feeling of accomplishment unless being a support system is what you’re going for. 

I’d rather live to help people and make them feel understood. I want to die knowing I have done just that.

So, if that’s how you feel, I say go for it.

Anonymous asked: Was it you or him

Clarify.

Anonymous asked: who is/was amalia to you?

Amalia taught me how to bake, how to trick rattle snakes, how to defeat the savage dog down the street from my house when I’d walk to hers, lots of things. She was family.  She dies tomorrow, way too young.

Anonymous asked: if my so called best friend just told me she is dating my recent ex boyfriend, should i be upset?

Yes. Break everything.

Anonymous asked: I've always wondered, was Endless Hallway's song 'Gamma' written about you?

It was written about the idea of me, yeah.

At least that’s how it was explained to me.

Anonymous asked: Whoa there it was just a joke don't freak out I was just messing with you cause of your impersonator post the numbers mean nothing

oh wow thank god I was just at home depot buying new door locks you just saved me so much money

Anonymous asked: you should be famous

If by that you mean millions of people listening to AKW and our house shows are packed and there are billboards of me trying to wink everywhere, then I’m down.

Anonymous asked: tis i your impostor with a riddle of you 55 is a name. 55 is the code. 55 is why.

Please don’t tell me you’re 55 years old because my address is definitely on a recent post and I’m just…

Ok, I’m shaking.

Anonymous asked: Do you have any photos of you performing/in the band when you were 12?

I only have hard-copy photos & VHS’s of the shows at twelve, but here’s one form fifteen years old at the All Tomorrow’s Parties festival in the UK.

I look exactly the same :(