I firmly believe in music being as free as possible. Unlocked. Shared and spread. In order for artists to survive and create, their audiences need to step up and directly support them.
Amanda PalmerOn many days, harder than the act of making the art itself is the act of sharing it and living in a culture that you know is built to tear you down.
Amanda PalmerThereโs no โcorrect pathโ to becoming a real artist. You might think youโll gain legitimacy by going to university, getting published, getting signed to a record label. But itโs all bullshit, and itโs all in your head. Youโre an artist when you say you are. And youโre a good artist when you make somebody else experience or feel something deep or unexpected.
Amanda PalmerThe stage show is, in some sense, highly theatrical. It's definitely not just a band in jeans playing rock and roll.
Amanda PalmerI wanted to feel like I could extend someone else's joy and not crush it, and that is the giant paradox nowadays of being a powerful woman: you want to live in a space of compassion and helpfulness and joy and expression, and the world is standing there, pointing the finger at you and telling you that you're greedy and domineering and attention-grabbing, and all you can do is shrug and just say, "Hopefully, someone out there understands and isn't misinterpreting."
Amanda PalmerI nurture my close relationships like priceless lamps. That's part of why the job itself is inherently difficult and kind of a paradox, because you're out there touring and traveling and going a million miles a minute, but the things that are keeping you steady and stable can be really hard to nurture when you're going fast, and your relationships, which are the number one thing that help me through.
Amanda Palmer