When I was a kid, I always thought that I'd be a comic book artist. It took a long time to start thinking that I could be a musician.
Daniel JohnstonI buy mainly Beatles bootlegs and stuff like that. I'm hoping I can go there today. My dad buys my drawings and he re-sells them for quite a bit more and then he puts the money in my savings. I just draw all the time and he buys and I get a lot money [laughs]. It's great. My dad's my best manager I ever had. If I get richer, I'd like to be able to buy more of the real collectible Beatles things. I just need a little more money to be a higher class collector [laughs].
Daniel JohnstonI've got something to live for, because I always wanted to be an artist; I always wanted to be famous.
Daniel JohnstonI believe in God, and I certainly believe in the devil. There's certainly a devil, and he knows my name.
Daniel JohnstonI believe in spiritualism. It's like, when you listen to music or something and then you're sort of primed. If you're an artist, you're sort of primed and inspired, and you start drawing, you sort of have the spirit of what you're listening to, still in you. You just have sort of an inspiration.
Daniel JohnstonListen up and I'll tell a story about an artist growing old. Some would try for fame and glory; others aren't so bold.
Daniel JohnstonWhen I was writing songs, I always thought I'd make more of a career out of the drawings, the comics even more than the music.
Daniel JohnstonFor the longest time I was afraid I'd have to keep on working at the factories. There was a steel mill and a pottery; if you didn't go to college, you went to work in those places.
Daniel JohnstonI wish I had never got manic depression. When I was in junior high, I didn't know what was the matter with me. It was as if I'd died or something. Now that I go to a clinic and get the right kind of medicine, I am not as depressed as I used to be.
Daniel Johnston