JEWEL

Hard times make you bitter or make you more compassionate.

I never found much comfort in overly organized religion of any sort.

Some of my favorite poets had a tremendous sense of whimsy, so it's a writing style I guess I admire.

It's like a garden: Whatever you water the most will do the best. At some point, you decide whether you'll water your career or your relationship more.

I'm a Gemini and I have a lot of different moods. Sometimes I'm very serious and introspective and pensive, but other times I'm completely goofy and girlie. So, I like my songs to cover all my moods.

If someone is willing to help you understand your own worth when you're vulnerable, that's a very touching thing. It makes you want to help other people.

I consider myself a product of Alaska. The love and the debt that I feel to my home state - you always want your hometown to be the proudest of you, and so it's heartbreaking to hear people say snarky things.

I'm fairly specific about what I like to wear and looks are important to me, just like they are to everybody.

I think when kids just see well-crafted poetry, it's just obtuse to them. It's hard to relate to.

I get bored very easily. I have a voracious appetite and I do not feel alive if I'm repeating something I'm good at. So I'm always looking for new challenges.

I'm not a partygoer.

I was Renee Zellweger's fat doppelganger. If she ever played in a movie where she needed to be fat, apparently I could be her stunt double.

It's really fun to see young kids trying to find excellence in themselves.

Being part of the natural world reminds me that innocence isn't ever lost completely; we just need to maintain our goodness to regain it.

I tend to eat what I want, which probably isn't good.

I'm a happy mum. I didn't think it was in the cards for me, so I feel very blessed.

I love shows about creating and cooking. Sometimes they're so extraordinary, you end up setting yourself to fail.

I think family mealtime is really important. There's a lot of research that shows kids are going to do better in school and have more self-esteem if you can all sit down and eat together.

The show is different every night, because I never write a setlist.

I love playing big rooms. There's nothing like it. It's a power trip.

I have hundreds and hundreds of songs waiting to get on albums, but I don't know about the three-month radio tours and if I'll be interested in that. I haven't figured it out, but I will definitely be doing music, whether it is independent or with a major record label.

I was raised really poor and so was my husband.

Writing is a really good first step toward that goal of knowing yourself.

I've always toured solo acoustic.

I find you get out of people what you put into them.