Atlanta has a long tradition of attracting celebrities as well - Elton John, Diddy, Whitney Houston, you. Why do you think that is? Because it has no metahipster awareness of itself. It's a very simple approach to living your life. For instance, if you're at Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport, and you're taking the escalator up to the gate … the dog-eat-dog world knows that the left side is for walking up and the right side is for chilling. But in Atlanta, the left side is for chilling out and the right side is for chilling out.

Besides the escalators, where was your favorite place to chill out? It's funny, because I didn't spend a lot of time there when I was there. But knowing who I am now, I would probably hang out in Little Five Points more. The only time I was in Little Five Points was when I was going to see a show at Variety Playhouse or doing my best imitation of a good first date. That was about it. I was also 21 when I first got there, so I never really considered myself a part of the culture. The combination of my age and how much I was into playing music and getting that going, I never really became a part of the recreational culture of Atlanta. Now I seize that in my life, and I would be hanging out in Little Five Points.

Where were you hanging out? What I most remember about Atlanta, which is still very special to me, is the drive I would do at least three times a week, from Duluth to Decatur to go to Eddie's Attic to play a show. I was on the standby list with Eddie; if somebody had car trouble in Chattanooga, Eddie would call me and say, "Wanna play for a half hour? An hour?" There was always this mood of complete excitement and complete vitality, getting into the car and preparing myself to go play. It was a very long drive down Clairmont Road to get to Eddie's Attic - you go straight for four miles past a bunch of lights.