Alan Sparhawk Quotes

I don't really like ska.

There are people in poverty who, if they have the gumption, say, "I'm leaving here. I'm gonna take three jobs and make it." There are definitely people who do that, and it shapes the rest of their life. And that's almost as unfortunate as someone who says, "Why bother? I'm not even gonna try." There are people consumed by that, and I've been affected by it. It's been a detriment for sure. It was ridiculous, and I don't want to see anyone go through that again. It makes me compassionate, and when I see it, it makes my shoulders tense up, and you remember it.

I'm ashamed that we've progressed as little as we have sometimes. I think the template that every band looks at is The Beatles and how much they progressed in six or seven years. But if you're seeing it, good. Hopefully we're evolving. It's hard to tell from here.

As strange as it may sound, I think I'm a lot more at peace with the fact that you can't guarantee you're going to be all right [at] any time.

Believe me, man, there are people who are going to have way more troubles mentally than I am.

Most people don't know what it's like to be poor, and to live in poverty. To live in a situation where everything around you - every opportunity is shut. You don't have anyone showing you how to rise above, you don't have any resources, and everyone around you is losing that battle too, then yeah, you want something that you have control over that makes you feel like you're running your brain for a minute.

Obama administration has been the most narcotics-jailing administration ever. I just think it's so ironic and underhanded. It's so contrary to the consciousness and the feeling of the rest of the country. With a Democrat running things, it's still just the same things going on.

We're getting bombarded by the most polarizing reactions. As much as the punk in me likes it, I'm really surprised by the weird energy that comes at you when people talk to you like that. I mean, I know there are people out there who loathe me and loathe Low, but they stop short of broadcasting it. It's just interesting to see that line getting breached.

I feel like we're always on the edge of someone standing up and saying, "Hey, the emperor's naked." I'm expecting that any second. But we're pretty lucky that way. The longer you do this, the more treacherous it can be, and the more pitfalls and sort of bad diversions you can find to paint yourself into a corner. But with every record, we try to change the situation, yet still keep it comfortable, and we're lucky to work with people who are inspiring to us who'll give us that extra push. It's nice to make records that are appreciated.

We have a few artists that seem to sell enough to pay back what it costs to make a record.

Anybody who's putting out records is probably not making money at it.

We all know people who have worse fates. What do I have to complain about for Christ's sake? I have a beautiful wife and kids, and all this music, kids are paying my bills.

I'm trusting everyone around me who seems to be confident and happy with what we're up to.

I actually like taking a mic and plugging it into an amp and giving it to a kid to see what they do, 'cause they flip out. They're way more in touch with their voices than we give them credit for.

Most of the time when musicians get together, there's always that variance - always someone's a little ahead of the beat, someone's a little behind, you just hope it meshes.

I've got a real love-hate thing with the saxophone. I've got to be careful.