There's no grand excellence to it. In my experience it was just almost the gulaggy boringness of it that'll kill you. You're just in this murk. And you're with other humans, but you lose all your human skills and it's just like you're in this plastic bag and you can't quite connect with people. You lose your ability to transmit electricity or something, and to receive it.
Neko CasePlaying in an independent rock band will eventually make you equal parts truck driver, gladiator and mule. Glamour is for those with trust funds.
Neko CaseI have a hard time taking myself seriously. My band the New Pornographers doesn't take me seriously, which is why I love them. We can't stand up there and pretend. What we're doing is really important to me and it's my job and I love it, but I can't just stand there unflinchingly noble in front of the audience.
Neko CaseI grew up with lots of animals and I related more to them than I did to people. I feel a lot of empathy for them.
Neko CasePeople get strange about whether you've written your own songs, which seems really stupid considering that, especially in Country Music, it's about oral tradition and passing things on and the songs weren't meant to be played by one person and then forgotten.
Neko Case