“For me personally, I think that the thing I find the most shocking or weird is that most people think I’m provocative to the point of being controversial about it. And maybe like a little cocky, and I actually, believe it or not, spend most of my creative life being very unsure but very dedicated to making lots of music because I love that part of it. It’s all of the psychobabble that comes with it being communicated to other people that freaks me out, makes me want to internalize and makes it hard for me sometimes to complete the good feelings of the things that I’ve done because I’m shocked and afraid of the response of other people. And one of the defense mechanisms is to be very tight-lipped or reactionary.”

Ryan Adams (Harp, Dec/Jan 2004)

(Source: thegravyball)

tapenoon:

photograph by Gabriel Greene

I’m not one of those people who believes there was something in the air or a song can just come to me. That’s really a bunch of bull. It’s really about how much time you spend on your craft. It’s okay to be spiritual, and it’s very important to be spiritual about art. It is some form of manifestation. But for me - and this is what I learned from hardcore and punk rock - it is that everyone has that power, if they want to manifest art. It’s just an amount of confidence and the willingness to let yourself go. It’s really about getting access to yourself. But it isn’t that some fishermen catch more fish; it’s about wanting to spend more time on the lake, or in my case, more time getting vertical.

Ryan Adams, American Songwriter (July/Aug 2007)

thedriftrecordshop:

The new issue of Loud & Quiet landed at Drift HQ today, and gracing it’s excellent front cover is Ryan Adams talking about his forthcoming new album “Ashes & Fire”.

So nice big stack of L&Q for you all in the shop and you can pre-order “Ashes & Fire” online now; plus you can listen to “Lucky Now” from that album below. We’re excited!