The music takes you. It has to be alive. It's like you hammer something, and the way it happens to bleed leads you into new directions.

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.

I wanted to challenge myself and move into something new. I felt that using the name Swans and the sonic attitude that that engenders was what I needed to move forward musically, and it's led to lots of new things.

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.

It's good that people come to the shows because there's nothing fashionable about Swans. Never has been, really. We've never been part of a scene. So the people that come are really there for the music. Fortunately, there's a lot of young people and a burgeoning female contingent, which is good as well.

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

The music takes you. It has to be alive. It's like you hammer something, and the way it happens to bleed leads you into new directions.