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.More Michael Rolfe Gira quotes [03/29/2018 05:03:36]

As far as playing playing festivals and everything, I feel like that's what I was born to do. I'm an entertainer, hopefully in the best sense.More Michael Rolfe Gira quotes [03/29/2018 05:03:36]

Many of the songs were written as a way of paying tribute to specific people, but in the end the songs took on a life of their own and I didn't worry about accuracy or biographical truth, so it's not a problem.More Michael Rolfe Gira quotes [03/29/2018 05:03:36]

When I first started doing the quieter, more acoustic material in Swans, there was a lot of derision and outright hatred from the audience and press, just as in the early days of Swans when we were rejected outright because of the bludgeoning, single-minded violence of the music.More Michael Rolfe Gira quotes [03/29/2018 05:03:36]

I used to routinely break my ribs doing stupid things onstage, but I have a healthy fear of breaking my bones now.More Michael Rolfe Gira quotes [03/29/2018 05:03:36]