Singers From The United States

"Someone gave me a pig heart in a mason jar. It was in the context of art, I believe. It was chained to a gourd and spattered with the expected colors of paint. And it was indeed, really and truly, a pig’s heart. I’m vegan and so it was kind of upsetting and pretty ironic, really, because it was the type of person I would want to guess was infatuated or obsessed."

"I've found that at times that question and the dubiousness that I seem to exude has given people something — not simply gossip or whether God is going to smite them for liking our band, but actually they've found strength and become more comfortable with who they are as a person. It's pansexual, that sort of reach. It's a wonderful side effect of what we're doing, to give someone the strength to come out of the closet to their family, or simply present themselves aesthetically in a way they feel happy with, whether or not their friends are going to be allowed to like them anymore. So it's actually a really cool side effect to all the rumors."

"Usually, old ladies tell me to find Jesus. Look, I'm just trying to find some chai and a good vegan muffin."

"I just heard a story from someone the other day where somebody was beaten up by Christians for wearing one of our shirts. Of course, that's a very Christian thing to do."

"One thing I will say is the education was good — even religion classes. I appreciate the knowledge I have — the imagery still appeals to me. But otherwise, it's pretty fucked up. I remember in the eighth grade, during a parent/teacher conference, a nun came down and spoke to my parents. It's funny because I had great grades, did very well on tests, and got along well with others but she told my parents she was "very concerned". My parents were like "what for?" She told them "I think your son might worship the devil...""

"It’s not a matter of imaging, despite what a lot of people would feel that it is. I’ve never presented myself in a way that I don’t feel comfortable with; I’ve never presented myself in a way to appeal to anybody. For the most part the way I’ve always looked to not appeal to most people. Really, my aesthetic was really more of a terrorism or violence than it was something to attract; more of a representation of my detachment than anything else — though it’s not always a very conscious thing."

"Look at who people are elevating and deifying in the public eye, and ask yourself what those people have done to receive such lauding and what it is they haven’t. When you look at that you say, okay, are these people being revered for something of merit, or are they completely hallow? Or even worse, are they being revered for something that is actually destructive?"

"I really think for the good of this world that, if I could have it my way, the whole world would be vegan and straightedge. So that’s why I feel it’s important to create an awareness of this lifestyle, create an awareness of the choices people make. To bring awareness about those lifestyles can bring a positive change, if only on the level of an individual."

"It’d be great if the record industry wasn’t completely falling apart and people’s interest in music wasn’t totally disappearing. It’s sad on a cultural level. Not even from the perspective of being in a band, just as a fan. It’s heartbreaking to see how little music means to people in modern times. And people say, “No, no, no — music means more than ever before! People are consuming music at a greater rate!” Well, that doesn’t mean anything, that’s just a statistic. All that’s saying is that people are downloading music more than before. That doesn’t mean that they’re listening to it, that they know anything about it, or that they’re going to see it."

"As far as vocal preparation goes, it’s really an interesting thing for such a fragile instrument and using it properly is like walking a tightrope. I have learned not to do extensive warm-ups. It’s really more of a cerebral mind-body connection Zen hippy thing, just knowing your body and figuring out if I do that then I will be able to speak tomorrow."

"It's not that everything needs to have substance, but when nothing does then you know we’re living in a bankrupt society, an artistically bankrupt society, and that’s not okay. I think there’s room for forms of entertainment that are very light and frivolous and fun, but when those forms of entertainment, forms of "art" if you will, become presented as something more than that, and are believed to be something more than that, then we’ve got a lot of problems."

"We lean on our church heavily, and they have helped us a lot, particularly in recent years... I have fame on the level of Marilyn Monroe, John Belushi, or Elvis Presley, but part of the reason I didn't go the way they did was because of my beliefs. People make judgments about Scientology, but often they don't know what they're talking about."

"There are unwanted emotions and pain that goes along with any birth. Preston insists the Scientology-friendly labour doesn't forbid the mum-to-be from yelling out in pain. Screaming is fine... It's the words. If you can avoid saying certain phrases and words... Just try to keep it as quiet as possible. Of course, you are going to groan and yell. It hurts. Just keep it to a minimum."

"It's hard to make a cultural phenomenon every time."

"The irrepressible boy who refused to grow up had been the star's favorite character since childhood, and she longed to play the role on stage."

"Mary was forty years old when she first played Peter Pan, yet she rehearsed fourteen hours a day and seemed fresh and high spirited while everyone else in the company drooped with fatigue. She was determined to fly all over the stage in the part."

"It was all role playing. I felt Larry was my little brother, Ben my big brother. Role playing was something I had known since I was born, but it wasn't a good basis for a marriage."

"I was seventeen years old, a married woman without real responsibilities, miserable about my mixed-up emotions, afraid there was something awfully wrong with me because I didn’t enjoy being a wife. Worst of all, I didn't have enough to do."

"Anything was better than playing cards, and I was doing something I wanted to do — creating."

"Never, never, never can I say I had a frustrating childhood. It was all joy. Mother used to say she never had seen such a happy child — that I awakened each morning with a smile. I don’t remember that, but I do remember that I never wanted to go to bed, to go to sleep, for fear I’d miss something."

"Things can get very lovey and feasty with a bunch of stimulated hams."

"Mother was the disciplinarian, but it was Daddy who could turn me into an angel with just one look."

"Sometimes I think that I cheated my own family and my closest friends by giving to audiences so much of the love I might have kept for them. But that’s the way I was made; I truly don't think I could help it"

"Even as a baby I quickly learned to crawl out of my crib. … They'd put up barriers but I learned how to go over them."

"Peter Pan is perhaps the most important thing, to me, that I have ever done in theater."

"I can't tell you the joy I felt in flying in that show … I loved it so. The freedom of spirit that was Peter Pan was suddenly there for me. I discovered I was happier in the air than on the ground."

"Stop the habit of wishful thinking and start the habit of thoughtful wishes."

"Neverland is the way I would like real life to be … timeless, free, mischievous, filled with gaiety, tenderness, and magic."

"You are my Peter Pan."

"You can taste a word."

"You never find yourself until you face the truth."

"People see God every day. They just don't recognize Him."

"She had guts."

"The hardest working actress I ever knew."

"Ginger was brilliantly effective. She made everything work for her. Actually she made things very fine for both of us and she deserves most of the credit for our success."

"What's all this talk about me being teamed with Ginger Rogers? I will not have it Leland--I did not go into pictures to be teamed with her or anyone else, and if that is the program in mind for me I will not stand for it. I don't mind making another picture with her but as for this teams idea, it's out."

"Believe me, Ginger was great. She contributed her full fifty percent in making them such a great team. She could follow Fred as if one brain was thinking. She blended with his every step and mood immaculately. He was able to do dances on screen that would have been impossible to risk if he hadn't had a partner like Ginger - as skillful as she was attractive."

"I loved Fred so, and I mean that in the nicest, warmest way: I had such affection for him artistically. I think that experience with Fred was a divine blessing. It blessed me, I know, and I don't think blessings are one sided."

"That's pure bunk. I adored Fred. We were good friends. Our only problem is that we never aspired to be any kind of a team. We didn't want to be Abbott and Costello. We thought of ourselves as individuals. We didn't intend to be another Frick and Frack. [smiling, after a pause] But it happened anyway, didn't it? And I'll be forever grateful it did."

"Ginger Rogers did everything Fred Astaire did, except backwards and in high heels."

"You come into this world a zero, and you leave a zero."

"People ask me, 'Why Des Moines?' I say, 'Why not, you ignorant motherfucker!'"

"Sometimes we think that we're gonna be the first people to cross the genres of human and superhuman. We've got to live up to this fucking monster we created and it's bigger than we are."

"Interviewer: Tell me about some chicks you fucked on the road. El Duce: Well, we pick 'em up...and drop 'em off at Jack in the Box. Truck stops are the goods... you get an airhead at a truck stop and you say 'bitch, you gotta get down on the dick! Cunt!'"

"El Duce: You know I believe in peaceful rape. You know when the broad passes out... drugs... that's... I see the green light go on. It's time to make whoopy, baby, yeah!"

"Wally George: Why do you call it rape rock? El Duce: Well, because it's a man's rock. Wally George: Are you trying to tell me you little pervert that go along with and encourage rape? El Duce: Well, no. Only peaceful rape. That's when the girl's passed out."

"Wally George: Tell me what is your band all about? I mean what is The Mentors all about? El Duce: Well, I'll tell you son. It's like this, boy. We're heterosexuals. We wanna create more heterosexual music for the rest of the world. We're tired of sissie groups like Mötley Crüe and all this sissy stuff. We want rape rock!"

"Interviewer: Do you guys really live the lifestyle that you sing about in your songs? El Duce: Absolutely. All our songs are about reality. Like Sleep Bandits."

"Wally George: How do you describe your music? El Duce: Well, it's rape rock."

"Negative reviews seem to slide off Pia's back like discarded mink coats."