Johnny Christ Quotes

I've never believed in cheapening music by going according to what some people think is public taste.

They teach you there's a boundary line to music. But, man, there's no boundary line to art.

I'm not saying I wasn't flawed or amateurish. But you can never say I did anything to appease the music business.

I kinda went back to that period between '88 and '94 where I felt like I was the most creative, without being hindered by powers that be. I was no longer going to try to hinder myself to what I thought was going to be on the radio.

As I say, the Animals had a particular concept of themselves as a band. There was an anarchic spirit in it, which was being flattened by commercial designs, attitudes, and needs.

I don't want to be owned by a corporation and obliged to make a certain type of album. I want to be free.

There's no rule that says you have to make records constantly, like clockwork, to continue being who you are.

I associate creativity with independent music.

The artist discards all theories, both his own and those of others. He forgets everything when he is in front of his canvas.

I like Modest Mouse. I'm our biggest fan. And enemy. I won't waste people's time by putting out a Modest Mouse record just because. That's fair, right?

When the uncreative tell the creative what to do, it stops being art.

You don't always have to have a record out. I'm not a sausage factory, you know, turning out records every year.

The cool thing about those small-budget movies is that there's a tremendous amount of freedom the filmmakers have since there's less money at stake.

Stand up for yourself and fight for your right to be the artist that you want to be. There's plenty of pressure from outside; people tell you how to dress and how to sing or what to sing, but I always felt like if I'm going to fail or succeed, I want to do it on my own terms.

Prince was one of the best people I've met. He didn't care about the big system. I was always like, at any time, Prince could write a No. 1 song because he's that talented, but he chooses to do what he wants. I respect that. He actually helped me through a lot of situations with his knowledge.

One of the advantages of not going to art school is that you're not taught what you can't do.

You can't expect to connect with everybody, and that's all right. The more I make films, I'm learning that you don't have to make films for everybody. A film can be made for a smaller group of people than that, and it still warrants an existence.

I'd love more production houses to encourage artists to create what they want and not just churn things out.

I couldn't be an artist who was told what to do, what to be, what to sing.

As an artist, you need to be true to yourself and free and not put yourself in a box that contradicts with what you feel is needed for a song.

A lot of my stuff just wasn't saleable. I still don't do private or corporate commissions. It becomes like interior design. I don't enjoy it. The process makes me feel physically sick.

I'm not afraid of a big studio film; I trust my instincts. But for me, it's not really about box office. It's about looking back on your work and not having to apologize for it.

We can do many different things as a band. But that doesn't mean we should do that. If we did all we're capable of, it doesn't necessarily mean we'd be writing better songs. None of us are huge fans of bands that seem to go, 'OK, I'm gonna sing for no reason and then scream for no reason just because I can.'

We kind of reached this point in life where we don't really want to put out anything just to put something out. We really don't want it to be like, 'Two years are up. You've had your break; now do another record and get it out there.'

It doesn't matter even if I am slow or fast as long as my films are honest and carries my integrity.