I like loud electric guitars because I like how you can just lose your entire being in the sound.

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.

You make your work and you can't ask for approval when you're doing it. Otherwise, it's going to be untruthful in some way.

I don't throw my body down on the stage at all anymore because I'm sure I'd snap like a twig.

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.

Swans are majestic, beautiful looking creatures. With really ugly temperaments.

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.