(…) I would meet fans who were beat up outside of school or had to move high schools because they were teased for being fat. I can go on and on about the stories. But it wasn’t until they shared their stories with me that I realized how like them I was, and I began to relive all of my struggles as a teenager. It’s about society, but it’s also about pledging a certain allegiance to your fan base. It’s not like, ‘Thanks for buying my record, fuck you;’ it’s like, ‘Thanks for buying my record — and I will live and die and breathe my work and my art to protect your dreams. Because you protect mine.’ You can’t just make music and ignore your fans and ignore the effect they’ve had on you.