Quotes from Al Jourgensen

'Rock n' Roll Animal,' the live album, is one of the greatest live albums out there. It was a huge influence on me.

I was stupid when I started: the epitome of bright-eyed and bushy-tailed. It was like, 'I get to live in L.A. and drive around in limos? Really?' I didn't realize I was owned. The more money gets pumped into you, the more you become a marionette. It made me a true redneck in attitude: I never wanted to wake up ever again feeling owned.

I don't want people buying my records for this summer's hit. I want people buying them because they're interested in what Ministry will have to say in the future.

I never want to be in that stage where a band ends up playing state fairs and casinos. I am not willing to go out shooting up Botox and eating corn dogs while judging pig contests.

When I'm done with something, I'm done. I don't go back and listen to and pine for my old albums, or the Lollapalooza days, or 'Psalm 69' selling millions of records. Maybe I'm really just getting old and mellow.

I'm getting a bunch more face tattoos, because it doesn't look like I'm ever going to have to apply to a Walmart or Best Buy.

We have to support our local artists. It's just that simple. Otherwise, we will have no art.

Obama might as well be president of Turkey or Brazil; it does not matter. It's the system that is absolutely flawed, where 25 or 35 or 50 people make multi, multi-billions on building Olympic structures while people live in Barbados and have no roads or clean drinking water. There's something pretty inequitable there.

You know what? I feel my book is kind of pointless. I didn't want to do a book, but rather than tell the same old stories over and over when my wife Angie and I are out at parties, I could just hand out a bunch of books, and she won't have to hear them ever again.

I never read comic books as a kid.

I'd still prefer to do five nights at a club than one night at Allstate Arena.

I don't think we have the right haircut or tattoos for politics.

Today, if I could get a job, with face tattoos, being a professor, I would do that. I don't know what university would hire me, but that's my passion.

This rock thing got in the way of my teaching career.

I've never seen the Osbournes, I've never seen Paris Hilton. I'd rather read than watch reality TV. I'd rather live life than watch somebody else living it.

I don't think I've ever done anything professionally.

We'll see if we ever do another Ministry gig again or not. I'm not saying yes or no yet. All I'm saying is I know there's no new Ministry studio CDs coming ever again. I promise.

I'm not a malicious person. When you get past the tattoos and leather, I give people a fair shake. There are periods when I've sowed some wild oats, no doubt about it. And I can party with some of the heavyweights. There are some stories about me that, yeah, where there's smoke there's fire. But sometimes the smoke is just smoke.

Art is commenting on what's going on around you in your life.

I was a pretty delinquent little kid. My folks and I didn't get along, so I basically moved out... put myself through high school and then college by working. I'm only a half-year short of a degree in history.

There was one theory put forth by a journalist recently. I have a lot of friends that have died prematurely and a lot of friends that have died of natural causes. I've lost a lot of people over the years. This journalist basically recommended to me that God keeps me around because I amuse him.

Ministry is just ZZ Top with technology.

I'm a studio rat. I like going in there as producer.

If I did all the stuff I've been accused of - or credited with - there's no way I could make all this music. I'd be drinking myself into the grave.