John Grant Quotes

We don't want to box ourselves within any type of genre, you know? Whatever feels good, if it moves us and we like it, we get on it and make it our own. That's what we do.

I think the poets and musicians, they belong to everybody.

I always like to write the songs, and they get turned loose into the world, and who knows what happens to them. That's the joy of being a songwriter. You get to hear what other people do, interpretation-wise.

When you draw or paint a tree, you do not imitate the tree; you do not copy it exactly as it is, which would be mere photography. To be free to paint a tree or a flower or a sunset, you have to feel what it conveys to you: the significance, the meaning of it.

I keep a band of great young people around me, and we're not musically restrained. It's not about 'Let's do it correct' but 'Let's do it right.'

There are times where we are shooting a TV show, and it goes very fast. But everybody has this freedom to still be artists.

I just don't feel limited by genre.

One reason I think I am able to work with such dark material is the fact I was never really discouraged from making this kind of work.

Cinema is diversifying; there's room for every kind of cinema today.

I don't think art is bound by language or country.

The art is what can't be put on a timeline. You can't say, 'Well, I'm going to make a record in May because that's when the producer has a window.' So just recording and getting things out is paramount for me.

We have a motto at Naropa: 'Keep the world safe for poetry.' It's humorous but has some real bite to it. If the world is safe for poetry, it can be safe for many other things.

I don't have to rope in Armaan for every song just because he is my brother. There have been times when I have replaced him with another singer. We don't have a war over it at home.

In the band Semi-Precious Weapons, I got to sing, wear, and say exactly what I wanted for ten years.

Most of the musicians I play with - aside from the form and structure of the music - the interpretation is up to them.

It's a great thing not trying to make music for a label but just for the love of music again.

With Alkaline Trio, we are who we are. We never really feel too confined, but when we get together, there is an Alkaline Trio sound, and when I go off and do something on my own, there is an element of freedom that I don't have with the Trio.

I'm doing the shows. The stage is my canvas; I'll put whatever up there for the visible eye.

Moviemaking is a dirty, tiring affair. The joy comes from the possibility to be free on set and really let loose.

If the story-teller is to nourish the roots of his culture, society must set him free to follow his vision wherever it takes him.

I believe that a web series allows actors the freedom to express their views.

I want to highlight this, that to make meaningful cinema, we really need an enabling environment and freedom to express.

I feel that the smallness of the filmmaking environment is somehow connected to the freedom of creating film.

Writing for dance was a wonderfully freeing experience.

I always say I want creative control. A lot of people don't think about that. And that's what every artist should think of - being creative and not just a puppet.