It wouldn't interest me to try to sound like Cop or something. It would be silly and soul-crushing. Michael Gira More Quotes by Michael Gira More Quotes From Michael Gira Making those CDs, signing them, numbering them, packing them. It takes hundreds of hours, but it's worth it because I'm able to do the thing I love. Michael Gira cdsthings-i-loveable 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 leaderpersonalitypeople I'm pretty confident that people are going to come along for the ride. If they don't, tough. Michael Gira toughifspeople 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-yourselfprogressionsometimes 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 songwritingformimportant 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-yorkstruggleyears I really wanted to get to the animal core of rock music and eliminate anything that wasn't necessary. Michael Gira rock-musicrocksanimal 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 betrayalmusicalcareers 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 guitarbandvoice 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 realsongcommitment 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 festivalsbornfeels 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 couplewritingsong I'm a producer in the old-school way - not just some slacker working on Pro Tools. Michael Gira toolswayschool 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 rocksartschool 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 worrysongpeople 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 twigsstagebody
