I wanted to challenge myself and move into something new. I felt that using the name Swans and the sonic attitude that that engenders was what I needed to move forward musically, and it's led to lots of new things. Michael Gira More Quotes by Michael Gira More Quotes From Michael Gira I'm the band leader. That's not to say that the other people are my minions - they all put in a tremendous amount of personality, and push the music in ways I would never expect. Michael Gira leader personality people I'm pretty confident that people are going to come along for the ride. If they don't, tough. Michael Gira tough ifs people I like loud electric guitars because I like how you can just lose your entire being in the sound. But I can't find myself in a situation where our band Swans is doing typical chord progressions - it just seems cliché to me. Even changing chords sounds like a cliché sometimes, though it happens occasionally in our music. But you find ways to push yourself into the sound through repetition. It doesn't stay the same. It morphs constantly. Michael Gira push-yourself progression sometimes I never wrote poetry, just prose. I don't really consider songwriting a form of poetry either. The words are important, of course, but they're dependent on the music. Michael Gira songwriting form important When I walk around New York now, there are so many ghosts. I find it very uncomfortable. There were many hard years, and I never really achieved any kind of comfortable financial success, so I just associate it with struggle. When I had a chance to get out, I was elated. Michael Gira new-york struggle years I really wanted to get to the animal core of rock music and eliminate anything that wasn't necessary. Michael Gira rock-music rocks animal I could never release something on the label I didn't personally love. The label's really an extension of my own musical career, and I'm intensely involved with every aspect personally, so it'd be a betrayal to myself if I released something simply because I thought it would make money. Michael Gira betrayal musical careers I'm just as comfortable performing solo with just my acoustic guitar and vocal as I am with a band. The main thing for me is that the performance remain rooted in the words and voice, that there be no place to hide. Michael Gira guitar band voice I'm more interested in pulling out strands of joy from both myself and the audience. I'm not saying the music or songs are "light," just that when they're performed with the correct commitment it's a source of real pleasure, for me anyway. Michael Gira real song commitment It wouldn't interest me to try to sound like Cop or something. It would be silly and soul-crushing. Michael Gira crush soul silly As far as playing playing festivals and everything, I feel like that's what I was born to do. I'm an entertainer, hopefully in the best sense. Michael Gira festivals born feels I got involved, for the most part, in the actual song construction, lyrics even. I didn't want to write the lyrics, but if there was a howler in there, I definitely pointed it out. Just trying to bring it up to a higher level. Of course, after a couple records, people get fed up with that. That's fine. Michael Gira couple writing song I'm a producer in the old-school way - not just some slacker working on Pro Tools. Michael Gira tools way school I went to art school and never thought I'd be a musician, but then punk rock came along in the late 70s and kind of ruined my life. So I quit art school to get involved in music and I've been doing it ever since. Michael Gira rocks art school Maybe in the future I'll put out someone's one-off project, but generally I don't have time. Michael Gira projects Many of the songs were written as a way of paying tribute to specific people, but in the end the songs took on a life of their own and I didn't worry about accuracy or biographical truth, so it's not a problem. Michael Gira worry song people I don't throw my body down on the stage at all anymore because I'm sure I'd snap like a twig. Michael Gira twigs stage body
