Jake Shears

“I travel so much and am always living out of a suitcase, so my favorite saying is 'Wherever you go, there you are'. I love it because it's reassuring to me that you have to live in the moment wherever you happen to be.”

“I've been a much happier person in my early thirties than I was in my twenties.”

“I've never been great at being really analytical about myself.”

“I've always loved to write, and I wrote fiction all my life. That's what I thought I was going to do in my life - until I started writing songs.”

“L.A. will never, ever, ever, ever be my town. It'll never be my town. It's not New York.”

“I think, as people, we're isolating ourselves. We're talking to each other through our phones, arguing... those divisions freak me out.”

“I love Rebel Rebel in Manhattan's West Village for vinyl, but record stores are hard to come by these days. I almost don't even use iTunes. I mostly use music subscription services. But I'll go into Rebel Rebel once a month or so and buy everything I love on vinyl.”

“I'm such a fitness freak that I eat so plain, it's gross. I have oatmeal in the morning and then I have chicken breasts and vegetables and spinach shakes.”

“GusGus records are flawless.”

“It is a lot of fun being in the Scissor Sisters.”

“I've grown to love L.A. It was a really touchy transition. It was not the easiest. It took me some years to love it.”

“I hope that I do make music that can speak to anyone. I don't just want to play for a queer crowd.”

“I love creating things. I love making things.”

“I don't let things stress me out, and I'm doing my best with all the battles life presents.”

“Lord knows, I love a brainless pop song.”

“I saw David Bowie in 'Labyrinth' when I was seven or eight. I told my mom I wanted a Bowie record, so we traveled to the mainland, which was, like, a three-hour trip, and I bought 'Let's Dance' and 'Tonight.' 'Let's Dance' blew my little mind. I became obsessed with it.”

“There are only so many chords and notes in the world.”

“I do think it's possible to change people's minds - it's one of my goals with my music.”

“Ween is in my top five and have always been a huge inspiration.”

“My mom's a Christian and she loves me; that whole side of my family is Christian and I have no problem with it.”