Dar Williams Quotes

Well the first time I performed, my mom was like how she is now when sees me on stage – all red, smiling from ear to ear. So I don’t want to mess up, [be]cause she’s smiling. Seeing my mom happy is kind of like an overwhelming feeling.

When I performed the songs in front of an audience at the end of each project and I knew the storytellers were in the crowd listening, that was hard.

God bless Dad, he came to every one of my shows. I was bad, and I had horrible stage fright. My dad was so relieved - he'd say, 'You were terrible; this kid is not going to be an actor.' Finally, I did a play and he said, 'Son - you were really good.'

Being on set with my dad - that's so cool. People always ask me if that made me nervous, but it's the same element when you're a kid - when your parents come in the auditorium for those school performances. It calms you.

I get a little teary on stage sometimes. It can be really emotional when it dawns on you that people are singing along and having fun.

When I go onstage, every situation I have to play, I feel pain. When I sing 'Madama Butterfly' I feel completely everything she felt: It's horrible.

I can deal with having a terrible night on stage in front a bunch of Glaswegians but not a bunch of Glaswegians and my mum and dad.

There are times I've been surprised by how emotional I can be on stage.

I once nodded off during one of my own concerts. While I was playing.

I play some places where the people are right at my feet, and you can see their expressions. It's kind of more like playing in your living room. It's almost easier to play in front of thousands of people in an arena scene, in some ways, but you don't get the personal contact.

Yes, sharing super-personal experiences is scary, but I can only get up on stage and perform it if I really connect with the music.

When I'm performing, sometimes a lyric will touch on my personal life, and it can be difficult to sing. For instance, when I sing 'How I Love You,' I'll choke up.

The first time I performed on stage, that was almost the first concert I went to, so that was pretty interesting and a bit weird at the same time.

Chemistry is like an indefinable thing. When it comes to people playing your best friend or your parents or anything like that, there's always different kind of element to chemistry.

I get really nervous right before I go on stage. But once I'm performing, I always love it. It's like being in a different world.

There's nothing more vulnerable than just standing in front of a thousand people, or ten thousand people, and doing your best to entertain them, touch them in some way.

I was so shy and so quiet, and the only time I had my own voice and I could really connect with people was when I was singing or on stage.

The big catalyst was seeing my sister, when I was 11, doing a dramatic recital. When I saw her on the stage and everyone listening to her so patiently, quietly, that's all I wanted: for someone to look at me and listen to me, but in some beautiful and artistic way.

Some nights you might go through an entire performance and not feel a thing, and the audience may have a much better time, 'cause if you're enjoying yourself on stage too much, they're having a terrible time because they can't hear you. And if you're a woman your mascara's running.

I'd say recording and playing on stage are two completely different things. Being up in front of all people is like jumping off a cliff into icy water. The recording process is a totally different energy.

The more nervous I am, and the more insane a situation is, the more I love it and get addicted to it. That's why I love playing on stage. And I kind of freak out if I don't get to do it, because it's a big part of my sanity, I think.

It's a pain in the ass, show business. And the only time that I really enjoy it is when I'm in front of an audience and they're reacting to me.

Having to stand in front of an audience and have it be your job to make them laugh, you can't really look to anyone but yourself. It's what you wrote, what you said and how you said it, so it's kind of terrifying, but I liked it. When it goes well, it's the best feeling in the world. When it doesn't go well, it's the worst feeling, but once you get into the rhythm of it, I think it's really fun.

It's depressing sitting at a comedy club all night, waiting to get on to do your five or ten minutes of material.

The distance thing is partially due to the fact that I'm pretty shy and I've struggled with extreme stage fright in the past. So I just have to go onstage in a different head space so I'm not as self-aware.