Stephan Jenkins

I’ve always identified with the misfits.

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

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

It’s important to face down your demons.

I find pleasure in things that are simple.

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

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

I carry groceries home on the tank of my motorcycle.

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

But when our first album came out, I didn’t think it was going to sell a lot of records.

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

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

You make kingdoms and castles on your own.

Am I a rock star? Yeah, I guess.

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.

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.

I have my share of insecurities, hopes and fears.

Sex is funny and love is serious.

I think if it’s not monumental, there’s no point.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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