When people suffer from depression or anxiety or any sort of pain/mental anguish combo, being able to take the power out of it through laughter is a pretty powerful tool.
Ruston Kelly
Songwriting has always been a means to an end for me. That end being a tool to try to understand myself in the world and, through observation, make sense of the world.
I used to feel that if I wasn't living out my songs, I wasn't doing myself or my craft justice, and that's a dangerous way to live because then you become what you make.
I was writing songs, I guess, a sense of lyricism before I started picking up the guitar. Once I picked up the guitar, I felt I started expressing myself in that medium without words.
I can write about pain without experiencing pain, which I am thankful for.
You can be whoever you want to be when you are writing songs.
We are all dually feminine and masculine. To give in to both of those things would strengthen us as human beings and there is such a drastic difference between men, and men who are terrified of their own femininity.
It seems like some of my favorite songs have almost like a nursery rhyme vibe to them.
A folk melody can exist uniquely but also still be somewhat familiar to you.
I feel the most centered in my life when I'm performing a song.
I have to remind myself sometimes to look back and see what brought me to where I'm at.
And there has to be a level of gratitude and a little bit of pride. But I want that pride to be quick so that I don't soak in it too much. Because I've met a lot of jerks in this business. And I don't want to be one.
It's a successful feeling when someone tells you that you were instrumental in helping them heal from a great wound in their life.
My theory is that if I can stay present in the moment in my life as frequent as possible the artwork will be more reflective of my nature and my experiences.
When I do find myself having downtime, I just put my guitar in my hands.
Black-metal is my favourite. Mayhem are one of my favourite bands. But whenever Slayer comes to town, I am going to that show.
