That 'Rollercoaster' album cover was very prophetic in its own way. My career has been a rollercoaster of highs and lows.
Mark Kozelek
When someone important to you, someone that's played a big role in your life, when they're gone... When you write about them or pay tribute to them, you want to do it in a way that's thoughtful.
I'm homesick everywhere I go, but England has a negative effect on my spirit to a profound degree. That trip from Heathrow into London is worse than the flight over there. It's just so grey, and I'm not a pub person, and the traffic in London gives me a heart attack. It's not a comforting place, on any level, to me.
Christmas is cheery for some people and depressing for others.
My most successful album happened back in the mid-'90s, pre-Internet times, with 'Songs For A Blue Guitar.' We were supported by Island Records; we toured a lot. Songs were licensed to TV commercials and movies.
A friend of mine passed away unexpectedly at the very end of making 'Ghosts', someone who had been as close to me as someone could get, someone who was far too young. But I couldn't really sing about it for a long time - not in the way I would have wanted to.
My perspective is so much different now, being 41. The main difference between now and then is just realizing that your time will come to an end - and that it might not be far away. You see your face change, see the gray hairs sprouting up. When you're 24, you worry about the day you'll turn 40.
When you're a touring musician, you're always turning over new rocks, and there's always a certain level of tension in your life. The music business, and the travel that comes with it, is stressful, challenging, redundant, exhausting, exciting, and often very depressing.
I found Jerusalem to be a tourist trap. I hope that I don't offend anyone by saying that.
A band requires so much rehearsal and travel logistics. I didn't mind it when I was younger, but there's not much motivation for me to do it now.
I'm not trying to sound mean spirited, but I honestly don't know of many successful musicians who get that excited about other current artists' music. You're either a music fan, or you're a working musician.
I see myself more like a novelist or a polygamist than a musician in terms of my output.
My heart is drawn to the small, out-of-the-way things that I can't help but to give my focus and attention and care, 'cause they shut off what hijacks my brain and help to tune out what can cause me pain.
At 47, I can't write from the perspective of a 25-year-old anymore. My life has just changed too much and my environment around me.
I'm a fan of making music more than talking about it.
My dad still hasn't heard 'I Love My Dad,' and I'm sure he'll say something like, 'It's good, but I love your version of 'Little Drummer Boy'!' My dad loves my live albums - he's obsessed with the live version of 'Little Drummer Boy' for some reason.
Most Americans I play for are clueless as to who Richard Ramirez was, so you can imagine how audiences in Portugal react. I'm not saying they don't enjoy the music; I'm just saying they're a little lost on some references.
There's never anything planned. I just do what I feel is best for the song at that time.
I have love in my heart, and I'm kind to people every single day of my life.
Every artist has different priorities. Some artists I know don't make as much music as they used to, because social media has taken over their lives. I work at what I feel is a very normal pace, and things keep clicking. It's rewarding.
I'm not doing anything intentionally to stay in the public eye. I'm staying true to my art, like I always have. The press, for whatever reason, decided to zone in on what is very common banter for me. It got worked out through song - the same way I work everything out.
If you're 25, I could see how you could be tricked into thinking 'Benji' is my most successful record, but I've been doing this long before online magazines existed.
'NME' and 'Melody Maker' were saying I was the next Lou Reed or Van Morrison. So, everyone has their own version as to when the height of my career was.
I don't have anything to prove as a writer anymore. I write about Panera Bread or Red Lobster or Satan or Richard Ramirez or whatever comes to mind. I just write.
If people want to write long, rambling, pathetic articles about how sad they are about song titles, have a blast! I'll be out playing music to a room full of people, having a great time.
I think that I've gotten a lot more relaxed, and I know how to go about getting a sound now. I know what to do to get the vibe right. As an example, when I'm doing vocals, I don't have six guys sitting out there in the control room, messing around, making faces.
If a fan approaches me and I feel like they have some kind of agenda, I'm probably gonna get real closed-off and not talk to them. But if I feel a connection with someone, or if I feel a certain trust with somebody, I feel like, 'You know what, I can open up to this person and tell them about an experience.'
I play shows sometimes, and if everything's connecting, I start blabbing to the audience about anything. Between songs, talking about things in my personal life, or whatever. But there are other situations where I feel a little closed-off. It's really kind of a day-to-day thing.
I'm just writing less of my own music lately - I go in and out of phases a lot. Sometimes there are these accidents that just sort of happen, that are kind of waiting around the corner. I guess Modest Mouse was one of them.
Throughout my life, there's just periods when I write and periods when I don't. I don't feel like anything's really blocked. It's just not where things are at right now, and it's just a matter of time until there's something going on where I feel compelled to write.
'Writer's block' sounds so dramatic and worrisome, and I don't worry about it. I know deep down that I'm a writer, and it's just a matter of time until it comes back, and when it does, it'll be good like it's always been.
Red House Painters were doing cover songs before our first record deal. I remember live shows where we did an AC/DC song; I think we did 'Send In The Clowns' by Judy Collins. We did 'The Star Spangled Banner,' which came out on our third record.
When I was young, a gatefold album by 'Pink Floyd' or 'Led Zeppelin' was something to get excited about, something you longed for.
I could have easily doubled my profit and made two records out of 'Among the Leaves', but the songs represented a certain period, and it made sense to get it out there as one piece.
I don't make demos. I don't have the interest or the energy or the time. Demos are something you do in the early stages of your career, but when you get going, you just go in and record the song.
Songwriting is what I do, and there could be worse burdens to carry.
Songwriting isn't a choice. You're either called upon to bear the burden, or you're not. It's not all fun and games.
When you have to pass through a couple of kids with Uzis on your way out of Jerusalem, you don't forget those images. Getting out of your comfort zone is healthy. It's one thing to hear about how things work in other countries, but it's another thing to be there.
I think I'm better at songwriting now, and it does come easier. I have faith in my initial instincts.
Fights are nice because I can hang with my girlfriend and not leave the house. Shows are nice because that's how I can afford $65 pay-per-view fights and to go to Vegas and see them live.
I'm a remedial reading student from Ohio who grew up to write pieces on my mom and dad in the 'New York Times.' They were really touched by that - something they never saw coming.
I think people choose to be offended by things as a way of bonding, as a hobby. They embed some piece of information into their brain without thinking it through because it's easier.
Even on tour, I spend two hours a night singing songs and the rest of the time staring at the back of people's heads on airplanes, some fat guy coughing on me.
Most of the people I interact with on a daily basis don't even know what I do for a living, so the 'persona' thing doesn't amount to much.
Your time is spent making records, planning, touring - not counting the days until another guy's concert. There are some newer artists I like in a casual, passing way, but I couldn't tell you the bass player's name or name two songs off of their new record.
A gimmick would be something you'd do to attract attention or to bring fame and fortune.
I don't know what aids creativity. All I know is that it feels natural to hold a guitar in my hands and sing.
I don't worry about anything except my parents' health, things like that.
Artists have kids, mortgages, or drug habits, and they got to do what they got to do. But reforming and the reunion stuff isn't me. I'm a 'moving forward' person.
