When I'm writing, which is 8-9 months out of the year, I'm in a concerted writing pace, where I work 5 days a week for at least a few hours a day, maybe a little bit more. But I won't work for more than 2 hours at a time. I'll work for a couple hours and take a break.

Amy Ray

Categorized in : Years Writing Couple

I grew up in the South and once you get raised on Jesus, it is kind of always a part of you even if you are a pagan, really.

pagan kind jesus

It's all right if things don't change today. We're gonna keep doing what we do. The world can either catch up or not.

dont-change today world

Your hatred is rooted in your fear, and your paranoia and insecur... by Amy Ray

Your hatred is rooted in your fear, and your paranoia and insecurities, well they don't belong here.

paranoia insecurity hatred

If some event happens and it seems really important to me and moving to me, I'll write it down in my lyric book knowing that it will come out in a song.

song book moving

People that are much younger in areas that are much more, kind of, disenfranchised, I guess, as far as the gay movement goes, they still have a language that they've discovered around things. And they have a vocabulary to use, and they have a way to express themselves even when they're not accepted.

vocabulary gay people

Music is such a good way to resist. It keep you strong, it has di... by Amy Ray

Music is such a good way to resist. It keep you strong, it has dignity.

dignity strong way

...and when I am negative, I will be negative only for as long as I have to be, until I can understand it, and then I will be positive...when I hate, I will turn my hatred into energy, when I am angry I will turn my anger into energy...and I will not be complacent.

hate hatred long

I do think within any job you do, you have a chance to serve the... by Amy Ray

I do think within any job you do, you have a chance to serve the community.

community jobs thinking

I think the musicians I play with solo do a certain thing that the musicians we play with with the Indigo Girls don't do. It's just a different thing. And it sort of steers my writing in some ways.

girl writing thinking

I mean, I really, really love playing solo. Definitely, it's like a labor of love, it's not a huge career. It's not that successful, but it's something I love so much that I'll do it regardless.

careers successful mean

When people say, 'Nothing's coming to me,' they usually don't lik... by Amy Ray

When people say, 'Nothing's coming to me,' they usually don't like what's coming to them.

people

I think art is definitely a great thing, and looked at as a way t... by Amy Ray

I think art is definitely a great thing, and looked at as a way to open people up.

people art thinking

At some point I was hanging around with the Butchies - a band I ended up playing with a lot - and it just brought out this thing in me... and it felt very different from the Indigo Girls.

band girl different

The best days I have are usually days where I'm out in the woods and something happens, like I see an amazing animal like a fox, or I get a glimpse of a wild pig or something that I never see. Or crazy things happen.

crazy animal pigs

If you're a teacher, for instance, there are ways to have positive representation of gay people in the classroom. Making sure that, historically, people are noted and archived, and that kids are getting just positive images of people who are gay.

gay teacher kids

Oh God, it's such a big world right now for artists. There are as many possibilities as you can have time for, getting your music out there with the internet, and Youtube, Vimeo, Facebook, and everything that you have, there is a way to spread the word. To me, the first thing you have to have is substance and content and real depth.

artist real firsts

I think you just have to take the bad with the good and you're going to get hurt more, but it's worth it.

worth-it hurt thinking

I sit down and draw from my lyric book. I sit down and start looking through it and see if there is anything that strikes me that I've written.

down-and strikes book

My personal feeling is that people need to be careful not to start over-analyzing and taking things apart and trying to be critical.

starting-over feelings people

I have a lyric journal that I write in a lot. When I’m going to play, I just sit down and have my books with me and my notes and tapes and whatever I need to refer to. I just play and try different things. It’s a kind of discipline.

play writing book