Stephan Jenkins quotes:

I don't really believe in palm readers and crystal balls and tarot cards, but I respond to the need for them.

What we value about music and literature are the moments that they create in our minds when we encounter them.

I respect Chris Carrabba as a songwriter and I also respect his past. He's got this fierce, straight edge, kind of hardcore core. There's so many songs that people are connected to and they all came together in a kind of DIY way, which I really do respect.

I don't think DIY is something that necessarily comes to mind when people hear Third Eye Blind, but that is completely how we've been from the beginning.

You make kingdoms and castles on your own.

Luxury and Ostentation usually make me feel antsy, like I'm going to get a case of Gout

I carry groceries home on the tank of my motorcycle.

I try to be the fixer of situations and I gravitate to people who are institutional misfits.

That's what drew me to rock music in the first place - that sense of remaking the world on your own terms.

I have my share of insecurities, hopes and fears.

My music is my way to rearrange the world according to my own hopes.

I've spent several years now with my head down.

My music is so often like a lullaby I write to myself to make sense of things I can't tie together, or things I've lost, or things I'll never have.

When you're just shagging girls, you can talk about it, but once it gets real, then you don't.

Music is the only thing in this world, with the exception of sneezing and looking at the sunset, that takes you to a place that's above the mundane. Everything else is just bullshit.

I was not someone who participated in other people's castles.

So I like that sound, but I am not interested in being retro.

There's usually a rhythm and a melody in my head, and that creates an emotional state.

Am I a rock star? Yeah, I guess.

I have this really beautiful Martin guitar, and it just kind of writes songs for me.

But I'm not worried about seeking out the approval of others - that high school thing of joining the club.

I try to be the fixer of situations and I gravitate to people who are institutional misfits

I've always identified with the misfits

I've always identified with the misfits.

Sex is funny and love is serious.

I find pleasure in things that are simple.

Books stay with me and have shaped me and made huge impacts on my life.

A lot of people say I wouldn't have a down day, but you look at the music and there's real melancholy.

I like people who have a pulse and aren't afraid to show it.

I like surfing; I bring a surfboard with me on tour.

I like that gathering moment where the music is about to begin, that moment right there. It's like jumping out of an airplane. It's that moment when the lights go out and then you're in it.

I play video games, dude!

I see rock music as the best example of modernday storytelling that exists in our society. Songs are narratives that help the listeners cope with the reality of life that can't be easily spoken about in everyday conversation. It is a hugely powerful process of helping people find themselves through music.

I was not someone who participated in other people's castles

I would say, if you're a musician then you probably have some capacity and some intuition. You've got to trust that intuition and be true to what compels you. There will be a lot of things along the way that will try to remove you from that, and if you do, then I think you are diminished. If you stay with it, then you have something that's real.

It was a hard time for me to have a pure moment, to be present, to be here

It's important to face down your demons.

I've spent several years now with my head down

Life is cruel and unfair, my friends, and that is fact.

My music is my way to rearrange the world according to my own hopes

Sometimes something will come along, and it feels easy and sometimes you'll get 85 percent there on a song and the last 15 percent will elude you for three years.

There are songs I really enjoy playing. I like playing "Say It" live because it's a long jam, kind of like shoegaze, so I do enjoy that.

There's usually a rhythm and a melody in my head, and that creates an emotional state

When people come together around music, there's something ancient going on. It has to come from a genuine place and that's part of the challenge. You have to cultivate that authenticity everyday.

You just gotta go after things you like.

You probably became a musicians because you're into it so stay that way. Don't believe that someone else has the golden ticket for you because they don't.