I was listening to a couple of songs off of your upcoming album, it sounds a lot quieter than most songs on Let a Man be Lost. The personal element is still there as it has been with every album you've done. Did you have a specific goal in mind before starting the whole process?

I've always been a singer-songwriter, but Running Changes is what I believe to be the first singer-songwriter album in my career. It just detracts from all the bullshit and it's a complete return to organically composed music, with real instruments and real musicians. I don't feel like I have to prove myself anymore. I don't feel like I have to throw these many sounds into a small space just to tell people, "hey, look what I can do!" It is a complete return to making music the way I want without focusing on any of the celebrity or media hypocrisy. I think every artist and band should go into a studio with at least some idea of what direction they want to take both theme wise and musically. I always make sure to have at least a few songs written before I go into the studio. I don't think I've ever created a concept album and I don't think I ever will. I'm not a fan of concept albums, or creating fictional stories inside my head. I can do that when I'm writing a script, but writing an album is a completely different approach for me.

In at least two songs, particularly a song like "Waiting for a Break in the Clouds," you take a very storyteller songwriting approach, similar to the likes of Bob Dylan and Neil Young. Those are influences we've never heard from you in previous albums.

In the last year or so, I've started listening a lot to the likes of Bob Dylan, and Neil Young, and Joni Mitchell. True greats in the world of singer-songwriters. I want to get into that category of singer-songwriters. I think I'm currently somewhere in between the likes of [Bruce] Springsteen, and Bono, and [Dave] Matthews. Those men are amazing singer-songwriters, but that's too friendly for the sound that I wanted to capture with this album. I wanted to wear a harmonica around my neck, and challenge myself in new ways. I'm the only person I have left to impress.

Compared to the previous three times you've created an album, was there anything different in the process of creating this album?

I didn't hibernate. That's what I usually do when I create an album. I disappear for months on end until the album is done. I did that for about two in a half months, but I knew with this album I didn't want to force myself to not travel and not go out.

It certainly has felt as if you've taken more breaks while recording this album.

I have. The earliest sessions with this record in mind started in December [of 2010] in New York City. The key with this album was that I didn't write a single song in studio. I've only gone into the studio when I already have lyrics in hand, ready to put music to those words.

Is Running Changes still going to be a double album? And if so, how many songs will it have on it?

It's gonna be a double album. The exact songs for the album are still undecided. I have a pretty good batch of songs so far, but I haven't sat down yet and tried to sequence them in a correct order and try to create the track listing for both sides. I have until the end of this month to decide that. I'll probably decide on the very last date before I have to hand a master copy to my record label because with this album, more so than others, the order of the track listing is very important.

You're at a stage in your career where perhaps it's time to throw caution to the wind. Do you feel that way?

Yes, I'm at a point of my career where I have to treat every album like it's my last. So in a sense, Running Changes is my last album. And it will continue to be my last album until I feel inspired again to write another album. There is no timeline when it comes to making timeless music. I might release one album after the other if the inspiration is there. I might release an album in twenty years if the inspiration doesn't come until such time. I don't force a single thing when it comes to creating music.

In two years do you see yourself making another album?

It all depends as to where I stand in two years. Maybe I'll still be touring this project. I have no idea.

In the past you've been an artist who tests new material live. With the handful of festivals you've played and are set to play, why haven't you road tested any new songs?

I feel if I start playing new songs, it's going to worn the fans out. I want every single song that makes this record to sound new to the listeners. I've been debating the fact of even releasing a single beforehand. If anything, I want this record to play like if it were a timeless record from the sixties and seventies. That feeling when you're so excited to hear a batch of songs be introduced to your sound wave for the first time.

I was hearing you play with the band earlier during sound check and you threw some new material on there.

Yeah, I'm not gonna lie it's fun. I'm excited to play these new songs live. I'm just not going to give the audience half-baked material. They'll hear the new songs when they're meant to be heard.

Something that catches my attention when I was hearing some of the new songs, the guitars. Where have the bluesy guitar riffs gone?

Well that's why you only heard eight songs. [chuckles] On the songs you heard, there was no blues licks. Is there still a part of me that loves blues? Of course, blues was my first love. Once the finished product hits the shelves, you'll hear some licks and solos. Obviously not as prominent as in previous albums, but they'll be there.

Anyone who has heard your discography from beginning to end can tell that you've tried to create a different sound and landscape for each album. Do you still feel that pressure to continue changing sounds so frequently?

I think the minute an artist feels like they don't have to pressure themselves, that's the minute they go irrelevant. I'm four albums in, everyone who likes my music or doesn't like my music, is kind of used to the singer, I'm on the brick of turning 33-years-old, I can't change my voice. So the challenge is to try and keep it interesting for the listener. When someone's on their first album, everyone is just excited by the sound of their voice, whether it's Katie Coyle or Amy Meyer or Eric Quillington or whoever it is, when it's a fresh voice. By the fourth or fifth album, everyone takes that bit for granted. I can't change my voice, but I can change the sound-scape around it.

What pressures do you face as an artist who's been around for a while going in to make a new record, commercially or artistically?

The honest answer is I want people who spend money on me, be it to buy a record or go out and see me on tour, to be really pleased with their purchase. I think ultimately that just comes down to me creating a piece of work that I'm pleased with, first and foremost. I've never gone into the studio with the mindset of selling a whole bunch of copies, or having five number one singles, or making music for anyone else but myself. As long as fans come up to me and tell me that they love my work, and come out to see one of my concerts, that tells me that I'm still doing something right. That's all it is. And I look to my heroes on both record and live and I think that the people who understand both are just as important are the most successful. I don't subscribe to bullshit.

So ultimately underneath the whole facade, you just want the approval of the people that love you, your fans?

Yeah. Who doesn't want approval from the people that love you and you love? Of course I do. I hate to disappoint people. Disappointing someone is the worst feeling in the world.

In a sense, don't you feel like you need to be an entertainer too?

We live in a day and age where people have so many options of how to spend their time. I've also been the kind of artist who doesn't see himself as an entertainer. You will never see any crazy theatrics at my shows. If you want to see musicians/entertainers, go to a GirlSpice shows or an Isabel show. Just go to a pop show but don't come to one of my concerts.

I'm getting a sense that you don't enjoy artists who are entertainers.

It's not that I don't enjoy them, they're great at what they do and I respect that. I'm just not that kind of performer.

There seems to be a lot of respect given to you by most of your fellow artists and musicians. Do you feel you can be the U2 to a whole new generation?

I don't think like that. But there's no point in thinking about it. I don't even see myself still playing music as active as Bono is when I'm 60. I fucking love U2, and I love Coldplay. I'm not even going to sit hear and tell you, 'I thought their debut album was brilliant.' No, fuck that. I love all their records. From Parachutes to Viva La Vida or Death and All His Friends. Who wouldn't want to write a massive anthem as Coldplay did with 'Viva La Vida?' If someone tells you they don't want that, they're fucking idiots.

Well from one of the songs I was just listening to, a song titled "My Life Is Not My Own," reminds me a bit of Coldplay's "Lost." Was that done intentionally?

No, not at all. But thanks for telling me. Now I have to change it before the official release so I don't get that question again. [laughs]

But it does have an anthem-like feel to it.

Yes, there is no denying that. The song sounds bigger-than-life. You're hearing three different kinds of drums on that song. An actual drum kit, a drum machine, and tribal drums. I really love that song.

Is it one of the songs that you're certain will be making the final cut?

Maybe. It depends. The song is very different from all the others and if it fits the sequence, it'll make it. At the moment there's about four different incarnations in the track listing, and it's four very different ones. We have a group of songs that will define the direction of the track listing from beginning to end, and I'm a little bit lost today on what to leave off.

Personally I would hope "My Life Is Not My Own" is not one that's left off.

I don't think we'll leave that one off, because it's supposed to be an anthem that is suppose to be played loud and in front of big crowds. I think I need that kind of song in my discography. Even if it doesn't make Running Changes, it will see the light of day. Be it as a one-off digital single or something.

There's almost a feeling of paranoia there.

There really is. Either this album will come out perfect, or I'll just lose my fucking mind in the process.

In a few words, how would you describe Running Changes as a whole?

The most beautiful disaster piece of music heard in recent memory. Or the album of the year. Either one is applicable.

The album of the year?

Why not? I haven't heard to a ton of records this year, but from what I've heard my album will be better than all of them. No offense to Katie Coyle or Riot! in the Boulevard, they both respectively have some of the best albums I've heard in a long time, I'm just saying my album will be better. That's not being a douchebag, it's just to say how confident I am with this record.

This is an a la cart world now in terms of music consumpton. Yet perfecting the track listing for the album seems to be very important to you, why is that?

Because there are still people who care about it. And I just can't compete in a singles world, I'm not good enough at singles to do that. So I have to play to my strength. I have had some hit singles, sure, but I can't compete with GirlSpice or Buzz & Hype when it comes to singles. Fuck that.

Hypothetically speaking, if you could have emerged in an era of music, which would be your preference?

The '60s. And just mainly because I would want to roll with Frank Sinatra, and be a member of the Rat Pack. That and play with Jimi Hendrix. The '60s were amazing. It's like you're living in an episode of Mad Men, drinking scotch at ten in the morning and smelling smoke everywhere you go.

How do you feel Ryan Ross Hernandez fits into the tapestry of contemporary artists today?

I think within a certain group of artists there's a real community. I'm friends with a lot of musicians. Katie [Coyle] is a great friend of mine. We have a lot in common and have shared many great conversations. I definitely feel that within the world of musicians there are some war lines. I guess maybe because the industry's been struggling and you don't sell 50 million on your first, all the numbers are different from eleven or twelve years ago.

I would think that would be a rewarding thing, not unlike the '60s or early '70s.

Yes, when the Beatles were writing for the Stones, that sort of thing. Artists of this day and age have been set a really good example, because a lot of people that I love have been very nice and generous to me. I have a voice, and if I can help a young artist in terms of producing for them or putting a good word for them to someone, I'll do it. I feel like everyone's sticking together. Everyone wants to fucking kill each other in terms of competitiveness, but to me it feels like a healthy competitiveness.

Provided you do tour for Running Changes, are you looking forward to getting out and playing these songs all over the world?

Well, in the immediate future I'm looking forward to trying to finish them. I find it very hard to deliver an album. It takes time for me to finish pieces of work and really perfect them. If an artist rushes through it, they're music will suck. I promise you that is a fact.

How do you know when a record is done?

When I hand it to the label executive. Then I know it's over. When is it done? When it's taken from my grasp, unwillingly. Every time, I think we'll be done in two weeks, and every time it's right up to the last minute. I know I want it to come out in October or November, so whenever the last moment that's possible, that will be when it has to be.

Are you satisfied with the output you've had over the years as a solo artist?

Eighty-two percent, yeah. [laughs]

I'm not just talking about quality, but how prolific you've been.

That's just the way it is these days. I could have done 15 albums, but the good songs would be spread over them. If you're lucky enough to do truly great with an album, then it's silly to come back with another one too soon. Everyone needs a bit of a break, not just the artist or band, the audience too.

Some artists learn that the hard way.

It's a choice, I think, isn't it? Some people have their routine and they want to hit the album every year or two years. We like to do it to its maximum, then step away and sort of rethink everything. That's why I think I can retire tomorrow.

Today do you feel good about your decision years ago of leaving PANIC! and starting your solo career?

I still can't really believe it. But everyone looks fired up to me. I've been doing this long enough that I know how everyone else is feeling, and it makes me excited when I can feel that the others are excited. Maybe I speak too soon. The fans seem pretty fired up. I think I have a lot to prove to myself; this is my forth record and there's no point in not going for it.

While you haven't released a ton of music, a lot of people don't know that you're probably the busiest man in the music world. This year alone you've produced a ton of albums for others.

Yes, yes I have. I've produced this year for Alica Lena, Infinite, Michelle Greene, Riot! in the Boulevard. I'm probably forgetting a few others, but it's difficult to remember.

Other than finishing work on your album, what other plans do you have in the coming months?

Well coming up in the next week or two I think, I start producing Ellie-Grace [Summers] debut album, which I'm actually very excited about. Her and I have a lot in common. We're kind of like black swans. But yeah, I'm excited about that. I have another project looming that I can't speak too much about, but I'm sure you'll hear about it soon enough. I'm also waiting for a call from PANIC! telling me when they plan on getting serious about making a new record to see if our schedules match and I'll produce their upcoming album.

In a less serious question, we're in a time in music where the market is very female-dominated. Which of the current artists do you personally find yourself attracted to?

Aside from the obvious choice, correct? [laughs] Aside from Nadia, the most beautiful girl in the world, there is plenty of attractive young ladies in music today. Ellie-Grace Summers is so beautiful in a old-fashioned kind of way. That girl would have been beautiful in any era. Every man with good taste has a crush on her. Hmm.. who else? Amy Meyer is a good looking girl. Not exactly my type, but I can respect her beauty. I can still say Katie Coyle, right? She's a lesbian but she's a lovely girl, there's no denying that. Let's put it this way; if she wasn't a lesbian I would've banged her by now. [chuckles]

I know you've got a show to do, so I appreciate you taking the time to do this.

Yeah, not a problem. I'm not exactly a master at giving interviews but I think this one went well, all things considered.