Folk art has never been much about politics; it's about action and utility.

- Cass McCombs

Sometimes I feel like I finish a song, and there's another song that I have to write in response to that song. Each is like its own separate feeling, its own separate universe.

- Cass McCombs

People expect not just songwriters but all personalities to pontificate about their egos - they just wanna see someone talking about themselves constantly. I'm not interested in that.

- Cass McCombs

I've always littered my songs with jokes. You might need to dig a little deeper to find the humor, but I would totally object to being some kind of distraught personality. I've never tried to attach myself to that.

- Cass McCombs

I project love, music and love, and I pray for peace. A good song cuts straight to the heart; sometimes it doesn't need to be too many lines - of course, I do love a good story.

- Cass McCombs

I have no idea what will become of my work in the future, the future folk will not be aware of our influence over them, as we are unaware of how our dead influence us.

- Cass McCombs

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.

- Cass McCombs

Opinions only carry weight in the second or third person.

- Cass McCombs

Musicians wake up and create a more loving community by creating heavier music.

- Cass McCombs

Lyrics are my racket; music is play - the fluff stuff.

- Cass McCombs

I'm making music with my friends. It's fun. It should be fun. You shouldn't make music if it isn't fun.

- Cass McCombs

I wouldn't go into the studio if I didn't have a band who's ready, willing, and able.

- Cass McCombs

I was just a folk singer. I cut my teeth on the streets, you know.

- Cass McCombs

I just write songs whenever I feel like it, whenever they come to me.

- Cass McCombs

I grew up in the suburbs and was raised on rap radio, so it took me a long time to stumble upon the acoustic guitar as a resource for anything.

- Cass McCombs

It's hard to make out the difference between insults and bad advice.

- Cass McCombs

A lot of people don't know what it's like to actually be hungry. I do. I've also slept on the streets.

- Cass McCombs

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.

- Cass McCombs

Thank God we don't know a lot about Shakespeare or Moses or Homer or Lautreamont. These are the best guys we got, and their art is powerful because they're mysterious.

- Cass McCombs

I've always thought about myself as somewhat of a folk musician. I just write words. I don't think I'm even a musician. I don't play a lot of instruments, not really a soloist or anything.

- Cass McCombs