Sharon Van Etten
My mom is a history teacher, so we'd go on all these historic trips as kids around Halloween, because it was kind of creepy.Collection: Teacher
Music is still my main thing, but I will explore anything that's interesting and challenging.
I wanna grow and develop as an artist, and I feel like different kinds of collaborations can only help me in that way.
I only work with people that are mysteries.
It's really hard to watch yourself.
You write these vulnerable songs as a sort of therapy, but if you don't confront people on a daily basis, it's not reality. There's still a bit of separation there.
I believe my songs are strong enough to stand on their own - even way back then when they were recorded badly and minimally.
Everyone has their down days. Unfortunately, that's when I am the most prolific.
I was in musicals. and I was in the choir when I was younger. Before I started writing my own songs, I thought I wanted to be on Broadway, but it was nothing I ever really pursued.
When I first started making music, it was where I went when I couldn't express myself, when I wasn't able to connect with other people, when I couldn't talk about what I was going through.
I will entertain things that are entertaining and sound interesting and challenge me. But acting just doesn't come second-nature to me.
Time is very weird.
I like having a home. I like having a place to return to.
I go back to things all the time. It's really nice, too, like when I'm going through some kind of a writer's block, and I'm feeling uninspired, I go to some of my oldest songs from over the years and sift through them, and one thing that's very nice is to see how I've grown up a little bit. A little bit.
I feel like I'm getting better at being a writer.
I didn't think I was helping other people. But I think that comes hand in hand with trying to be able to connect with people, and if you make things too personal, then it's harder for people to relate to you. Otherwise, it's just them listening to you read your diary.
I think, in general, I find writing to be very therapeutic and singing in itself to be really therapeutic.
I'm a total goofball.
I'm not the sad sack that people might think I am. But I think that if I didn't write and perform, I probably would be.
I'm attracted to music made by people who let themselves be emotional. They really care about what they do, and we believe in what they say.
In some ways, being on the road is like summer camp. There's a camaraderie, but I'm also learning how to be more of a leader.
Relationships. Ugh. You have to laugh sometimes.
I only write when I'm in a dark place. I hit 'record' and get it out, writing and playing my guitar at the same time.
I am my therapist, and I analyze what's happening and if I'm being hurt in the process. The result is songs that are very emotional, very deep, although I try to write them generally so they won't alienate the listener.
Performing a song is intense. When I see people connecting, it makes it all worthwhile.
I get things out of my system through my songs, but, because they can be about so many different things, it takes me a while to get through them emotionally.
I always had a hard time communicating my emotions. I'd retreat into my bedroom and listen to music. And when you're a teenager, you're dealing with all these hormones. It's like, 'What are these?'
I totally lucked out by meeting a lot of amazing people. I guess it stems from going to shows and being confident enough to meet people and be able to talk to them like a normal person rather than have my head down all the time.
Most musicians are normal people who want to hang out and are really down to earth.
As a kid, you put musicians on a pedestal - well, I did. The more you meet bands, and the more you hang around them, you can have normal conversations.
I was so broken when I did the first record. I was living in my parents' basement, I didn't know anyone. I was broken-hearted and writing this really dark record. I was at the bottom of a well.
I was without my own place for nearly two years. It's such a cliche to be a homeless musician in New York, but luckily, I had amazing friends who let me stay with them. I visited my parents a lot. It's not like I was sleeping in my car, though I might have done that once... But it was by choice!
If I make assumptions about the audience and start overthinking things, I can drive myself crazy about how the audience perceives me. I try not to do that anymore.
It's not onstage as often anymore, but whenever I got anxious, I used to talk a lot more, and I wouldn't even know what I was saying... it was so bad. If I just talk myself through something, even if it's just talking about nothing, it usually gets me out of it.
I used to hyperventilate, but I don't do that anymore.
If I start panicking a little bit, I just talk through it with somebody.
All the records I keep are like friends I visit.
I can't read notes well, but I can hear something and sing a harmony to it automatically.
There's something to writing a hook and something to writing a memorable melody. That's what I liked about musicals. Then I realized I could write my own songs, and I didn't have to sing other people's.
I've always liked to learn how to do things - I'm a hobby person. So I'll learn something at a beginner's level, then usually move on to the next thing.
People always ask me, 'Why do you only write about heartbreak?' I think I only write when I'm broken, so that's just what happens. It makes me feel better, but having some distance helps.
Brit Marling is very positive, very professional, very encouraging.
I'm pursuing a degree in mental health counseling. It'll be a long journey, and I still want to do music and other creative projects.
I didn't start writing with band arrangements until I was working on 'Tramp.'
I definitely wouldn't consider myself a professional, but I like to dress up like one.
I think leading up to the tour is the most stressful part because you barely have any time home.
I used to work at a label. I used to be a publicist. I used to be at a management company.
I'm very democratic about stuff. I know what I want, but I also like getting opinions and people sharing ideas.
I feel like, as a female, I am maybe hyper-sensitive to feeling pushed into a corner or somebody taking a song a different way.
Whatever your writing is about, you're really connected with it, and you can always go back to when that was. I remember everything, and time and place are like a center for me.