Quotes from Sturgill Simpson

I've always played music. But you know, in eastern Kentucky, everybody plays music.

I lived in Japan when I was younger for about two years. I spent my time equally between religiously studying Aikido in Shinjuku by day and hard partying in Shibuya and Roppongi by night.

There have been many socially conscious concept albums. I wanted to make a 'social consciousness' concept album disguised as a country record.

It's a long road, so we are just trying to stay focused and grounded and keep moving forward. I'll take it, though.

Both my grandfathers and my mother's brother were musicians.

Anything that I'm naturally curious about, I get really into. Maybe it's O.C.D. I get really consumed by something until I absorb it, then I'm done with it.

There's a lot going on in country music, with indie-label hipsters and underground bloggers arguing their interpretations of what country is, and pop-country stars defending themselves. That deserves to be poked fun at.

Anytime I ever have met someone that was very angry or full of negativity, nine times out of ten, if you really take a good look at that person's life, there's probably not a whole lot of love going on there.

Even with most finite planning, you never know what the final result will reveal itself to be until it's staring back at you.

You make a little noise, and you can sell out your local hometown club. But then you drive an hour down the road to the next town, and there might be eight people there.

Let's just cut a live record with three microphones in four days and talk about lizards and aliens. If I had taken that idea to even an independent label, I don't see a label out there that would've said, 'Oh yeah, that sounds great. We know how to market this.'

I've been reading about the idea of cyclical lives - it matches up to the idea of string theory and a multiverse. So I wanted to write a record about that instead of another song about broken hearts and drinking.

I'm interested in exploring various forms of newer media that might allow those who otherwise don't listen to country to find and connect with my music.

I just can't sit down and write three verses and a chorus and a bridge anymore. It just don't find it inspiring.

Country music especially can get very formulaic - you know, you have to have your verses and a bridge and a chorus, and a lot of the songs are written as just plain and simple poetry on the road.

I don't pretend to be an astrophysicist or anything, even though I do read about certain things like metaphysics and cosmology that I've always just been really interested in. I don't pretend to be able to sit down and pontificate on any of these subjects.

I'd love to make short film videos pushing the conventional standards of what a country music video can be.

There are no expectations other than those I place on myself to be a great father and husband.