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The first song that I had that went platinum was 'Keep Your Head Up,' which was a long time ago. Then, you get 'one-hit wonder' with that.
I've never cheated on my wife, ever. But to say that it doesn't exist or it doesn't happen and saying you never deal with it would be lying.
I'm a big fan of talking about God. Whether people believe in God or not, that's so fascinating. Or where you go when you die is fascinating.
You have to do what you want to do, and I genuinely believe that if you start interacting in the world that way that there is a respect in that.
Once you see the impact that you have on people, either at a meet and greet or after a show, you think, 'Oh man, they need to feel better today.'
I love songs, and I love to tell stories, and so a lot of times, if you really want a good story, you got to flip the radio dial over to country.
Even a song like 'Give Love,' in my head, there's a question as I'm writing it, going, 'Is this cheesy? Is it too on the nose to say 'give love?''
'Fresh Eyes' was my own little discovery of having been in a relationship for a while and realizing that my favorite part of it is being surprised.
Album 1 is proving that you're worth listening to, album 2 is proving that it wasn't a fluke, and album 3 is the most authentic thing I've ever done.
It's really fun to have the spotlight and feel ready for it. Not in a conceited way. But just like, 'Man, I think I'm going to give you what you need.'
I think that's what makes a great show: when the performers onstage aren't putting on a show, they're legitimately just having a freaking awesome time.
I have a thing: I will always put money in for any street musician anywhere in the country, anywhere in the world. It's like giving back the money I got.
I loved all sports, and New York's a pretty good sports town, and the Giants - I don't know why we chose the Giants over the Jets, but we chose the Giants.
When I get back with band, the lights, and the whole production, that's me with the full artillery. A quick radio performance keeps me sharp for the big show.
I grew up a huge jock, a lot of basketball and football. We had a pond in my back yard growing up, and we played a lot of hockey, too. I loved to score goals.
You either create something there on the street, or nothing happens. It's brutal. But if you go through that for two or three years, it really toughens you up.
Anytime I hear songs that are so honest, whether they make the person who's singing it look good or not, there's a level of honesty that resonates with people.
What's so wonderful about the street is it's organic music. No preservatives. There's no other reason to be out there except you just love music and want to play.
The fact that 'Honey, I'm Good' made such a splash and that people were catching it on radio, on Spotify, on Pandora, it's driving everybody to go hear the album.
Seeing what kinds of songs work in other cities and other parts of the world was pretty eye-opening. I know it changed how I approached the second record big-time.
'The Good Parts' is me telling as much as I can of the deeper sides of myself that I haven't shared before. It's like an onion that gets deeper every time you cut it.
I think it would be really brutal to put on a persona and get famous for that persona. Like, 'I'm number one, I'm the best!' because that sounds like a lot of pressure.
I do radio gigs, three-minute spots, solo shows, so I still get plenty of practice at the sniper attack - me at a piano or with a guitar, having to win people over fast.
I made a deal with myself that no matter where I go, if I see a street performer, I'd tip them. It's sweet to know that you can get started from the generosity of others.
You can't have Thanksgiving and not just be like, 'All right, where's the football.' It's been branded very, very well. You can't have one without the other at this point.
I tend to be an all-in-type of guy, so I get in a zone to write, and then that's all I do. I'll spend eight hours doing nothing but chasing that one song. That's what works for me.
A big part of my upbringing was being with an instrument and kind of figuring myself out through music. So I feel a strong desire in any way that I can to help do that for other kids.
There's two things that are tough when you're trying to be a songwriter: Number one is, how do I write a great song? The second thing is, how do I write a great song that's right for me?
I am happy to join AutoNation in the fight against cancer. This disease hits close to home for me with the loss of my mom in 2009. Raising awareness and finding a cure is really important to me.
Street performing can be a great teaching ground and a barometer for what you're doing. It's rough and unforgiving at times, but it can be wild and fun and a real open canvas for your creativity.
Women take so long to get ready, but when they get out of the bathroom, they look smokin' hot. That's the struggle of men throughout history, waiting by the door. The wait is so worth it. Always.
I think anyone in a relationship has to deal with temptation if they're being honest with themselves. People don't talk about it very much, but it's very honest. Guys and girls both have temptation.
When I was a street performer, before I had any songs of my own that anybody would stop and put in money for, I would always be doing covers. Even with covers, people wouldn't stop in the beginning.
I'm just trying to write things that resonate with people. And when we're all going through something together, I think you smile after that - I hope that people leave inspired after one of my shows.
For each person, they live their life and their truth and how it works for them, and that's just kind of how it works for me. I'm not good at doing whatever the other way is - it wouldn't work for me.
You need to be growing and getting better, and in L.A., it's so hard to get bookings. You literally have to pay clubs to book you. It's pay to play, and then you only get 30 minutes. That's no way to get good.
For me, it's always been about a mix of hip-hop, acoustic singer/songwriters, and piano rock. I pull all those together. Each song may lean more heavily on one than the other, but they all have all three pieces.
I've been surfing several times, and I'm terrible at it. But what I found was that you're usually waiting on the board, hanging out, watching the waves come in. And one that you think is a big wave is not actually one.
There are pretty girls all over the place. But there are still a lot of people standing strong, doing their thing in loving relationships, actually staying true. I wanted to write an honest love song from that point of view.
I think that you just understand, as any creative person, that there's a beast that you have to beat, and it never goes away. I've resigned myself to that, and it's kind of what keeps you going. Writing is the worst and the best.
It's one thing when you're driving to go play at a radio station and you hear it on that station. It's another thing when you're just out in the middle of nowhere, and the song just comes on the radio, and you're like "Oh my God!"
You get way better from playing to the passing public. You learn how to entertain. But it took me a good three years out on the promenade to figure that out. You also learn what makes them stop dead in their tracks and what doesn't.
When you're spending eight to 10 hours out there, the homeless guy is no longer homeless; it's Dave. They become people to you. I think we're really good in this country about saying that they're homeless and, therefore, they don't exist.
Whether it's a 16-year old girl, or a mom, or a guy, or anybody, as long as they come up and they're excited to meet me 'cause they've had some sort of relationship with something I've created, it's the coolest thing ever. It never gets old. It's awesome.
You know when you hear a lyric and you can tell that the person means it? That is really hard; that is so much harder than it seems: to find the topics that you're passionate about and have it come across as like, 'Yeah, that guy needed to sing that song.'
The first album was more born from busking - they were the 'me-and-my-guitar' songs. Going out on the road and opening for big acts changes you. You look out at those audiences and start to think, 'OK, I need to write some music that's a little bit bigger.'
A lot of the albums that I've been really into are like, 'Oh man. That doesn't make him look like a perfect human. That actually shows his warts and his scars, and for some reason, I'm super drawn to him now because he shared that or she shared that with me.'
That I even get to play a sold-out show where people know the words and I'm singing about things I'm connected to is such a blessing. It's the equivalent of a nine-year-old saying, 'I want to be an astronaut when I grow up,' and then getting to go to the moon.
Well, there are two kinds of happiness, grounded and ungrounded. Ungrounded happiness is cheesy and not based on reality. Grounded happiness is informed happiness based on the knowledge that the world sometimes sucks, but even then you have to believe in yourself.
I feel like if you told me I would be having a son, I would be like, 'Yeah, I'm gonna be a parent - I get that.' But when the doctor was like, 'You're gonna have a girl,' I was like, 'What? Who am I?' It's the craziest piece of information that changes who you are. It's sweet.