Monsters of Folk + more

"We all had a really good time. ‘This is the only collaboration of its kind for all of us. We brought in many songs that weren’t entirely finished and we helped each other finish them. ‘That gives the record its voice, so it sounds like a complete band rather than a solo project with different backing artists. And every song has four producers, which is very rare."

"I think the one thing about people is that they can evolve and adapt and change more readily than any other creature on the planet, and hopefully we’ll have the intelligence and the self-awareness to realize the damage we’re doing and the potential danger we’re in. So, I think the human race has got to change but it’s maybe a 50-50 chance at this point. But it’s not a reason to despair, it’s just all about decisions you make every day trying to be a good person and spread the love around."

"People are counting on me. That’s something that a couple of years ago would’ve really pissed me off, and I probably would have done something to disappoint them. Now I want it to work out for everybody. I guess you just start to realize that there’s lots of stuff that’s bigger than what’s going on in your own head."

"There are sensitive guys with guitars who are depressing, and then there are some, like our friend Mr. Oberst, who express their pain, and it feels sad, but it resonates so deeply with hope and passion that it grabs your heart. That’s what sets Conor apart."

"My brother had an acoustic guitar that he was neglecting in his closet, and one day when I was probably 13 or 14, I just borrowed it and started to learn Beatles songs. That was day one for me discovering music. I taught myself with an A-Z Beatles chords book: as I learned each song, I checked it off. I still have the guitar, and the book. It’s a really bad, cheap guitar called a Carlos Acoustic. Don’t tell Carlos I said that."

"The whole ideology of indie rock doesn’t hold any water anymore; it’s not that clear-cut. Every time we sell a record, Time Warner gets a dime from our distributor. I already give a ridiculous amount of my income to the United States government, which is probably the most evil organization on the planet as far as killing people; I don’t know how many bombs I’ve purchased with my tax dollars. Unless you’re gonna live on a mountain somewhere, you’re not gonna be free of the modern world and all the evils that go with it. What you can do is operate with intelligence and be compassionate, help people when you can. Do things not just for money, but for the craft of it."

"There have been zero compromises and zero sacrifices – the best analogy for me to describe this project is a dialogue between four friends – we throw ideas into the air, they get batted around a bit and then we send the ideas into outer space – its a pleasure to work with Mike, Jim and Conor on creative ideas because their input is instinctively mind-blowing."

"It’s definitely not a one-time thing. We all see each other pretty often, there’s just been a lot of activity for all of us. We’ll definitely make something new."

"Strong opinions make the world of art go round. Ideally, the haters should hate something enough that they are inspired to go create something in opposition to what they are seeing/hearing. I hope the followers are just as inspired to make something new – hopefully borrowing someone’s ideas and pushing them farther."

"When I was 15, my parents let me climb in a van with a bunch of 20-year-old guys. My mom entrusted me to Robb [Nansel]. She was like, ‘If something happens to Conor—you’re dead.’"

"If you’re lucky enough to get where we’ve all gotten, which is a place where you can make money off your music, you’re grateful to be there, but it does turn into this thing where you have to make it work and provide for everybody. With this, it was like, go ahead and screw around. Have fun."