Fantastic Negrito

“That's always the time to quit - when you have nothing to say as an artist and creative person.”

“I knew I was an exhibitionist. I came from a huge family. I found an emotional connection being on stage.”

“'Push back' is the word; that's what we gotta do against ignorance. I see so much of it, and it's dangerous.”

“Ain't nobody more punk rock than Robert Johnson, Lead Belly, even Little Richard.”

“It's amazing: when you are challenged with less, sometimes you can produce more.”

“I really loved the hardcore alternative vibe Prince had on 'Dirty Mind.'”

“When I was born, my mother said all the nurses wanted to come see the colored baby.”

“The idea of 'raw' music, to me, is honesty: getting people to feel you with the least amount of production possible, the shortest distance traveled emotionally, sonically.”

“Blues purists may hate what I do sometimes because it's a little dirtier.”

“I can't just sit back and write about the club when our democracy is under attack. I have to be a more positive force.”

“I heard Skip James, and it pierced me. It felt like punk rock to me, real and raw. It was just one guitar, so simple yet so much expression. I wanted to feel and express like that, to take the shortest path to get to an emotion.”

“Growing up in the neighborhoods I did in Oakland, you don't know the Beatles, but I started learning their songs.”

“We gotta bring new ideas to the table and empower each other.”

“I'm in a collective with the same guys I met on the streets at 12. The greatest investments I ever made were those friendships.”

“I try to be as positive a person as possible.”

“I wanted to do life, do something interesting. I ran out of things I wanted to say in my music, so I just put it down, sold all my gear, and put on some overalls and reconnected with the soil.”

“I always call myself a recovering narcissist. I lived my life thinking everything was about me.”

“I want to be an artist, not be in the business of making hit records. Once I figured that out, everything became clear.”

“I think I was made for live music. It's just great.”

“If I can't be honest with music, forget it.”