Cass McCombs (born 1977 in Concord, California) is an American musician, best known for releasing a number of albums since 2002.
With death comes a choice. And death is a choice.
Folk art has never been much about politics; it's about action and utility.
I took piano lessons when I was a little kid, but even before that, you're singing in the classroom and wherever. Gosh, children are always singing. But I took music lessons, some choir and things like that at school. I learned how to play the guitar when I was about 13. . . ancient history.
I don't think I'm a particularly somber human being.
I love songs because by nature they are concise; they sum up. I try to use as few words as possible. It's usually funnier that way, anyway.
I don't live anywhere, so that's what's fun about tours.
Lyrics are my racket; music is play - the fluff stuff.
I don't think music is my job - I don't think about it that way, because I don't really get paid. There's not paycheck at the end; it's more of a "whatever is left over" kind of situation. Also, it keeps me from thinking about my creativity as a business, which it is not. It should remain pure; that's one of the reasons I made music in the first place.
I wouldn't go into the studio if I didn't have a band who's ready, willing, and able.
If you've ever sang in falsetto, you know that your throat is between your voice and your mouth. In a standard voice, you sing from your belly. And when you sing in a falsetto, you're blocking that. It gives it a filter. It gives it a character. It's less revealing.
I'm not trying to write for the masses. I don't care.
Opinions only carry weight in the second or third person.
Making music and art is about expressing something that's universally human, maybe even beyond human, at best. To make it about the artist and to dwell upon biographical information can only make it singular, and I am really, really disgusted by that.
People just wanna see someone talking about themselves constantly. I'm not interested in that.
That's the thing about inspiration, it just smacks you upside the head, you can't plan for it. It comes like a stranger in the night; you never know when it's going to come or leave, and you just have to deal with the in-between moments because there's nothing you can really do about it.
I just like writing lyrics. I find a little satisfaction in performing live, making records. But primarily, I just try to write every day.
I don't think music is my job - I don't think about it that way, because I don't really get paid. There's no paycheck at the end; it's more of a 'whatever is left over' kind of situation.
I think it's worthwhile to expand your comfort level and just do something awful. I wasn't trying to make music for money.
Bringing the individual into it music only distracts from the universal and makes it trivial. And then it's easy to wash your hands of it because you might not be from their background, or you might disagree with their personal perspective. So you discount it and go back into your corner instead of coming out and engaging with everything.
Making music and art is about expressing something that's universally human, maybe even beyond human, at best.