Magic RPM:
Do you like being on stage, playing your songs in public?
Sufjan:
I like the challenge of interpreting the album in a live environment and I like the dynamics of concerts, the social interaction. Being on stage with people. Bringing the music to light. It's an opportunity to celebrate the music in a very objective way: I don't feel like I'm playing my own songs but those of someone else. I like it, that distance with my own work when I'm on tour. Even though, with the group, we embody these songs when we play them, I feel detached. We play and then it's over: there's something immediate and ephemeral that fascinates me. Many of the things we do in life are recorded, ranked somewhere, catalogued and concerts are one of the few things that are old school. It's an experience at a given point in a given environment. And even if you save it, it really doesn't translate the experience of the people who were there. It's very exciting, very spiritual.
Sometimes I write things on Nashvillest.com and other times I work a real job that involves lots of airports, hotels, spreadsheets and the occasional pantsuit. Avid roadtripper, lover of redbud trees and firm believer in taking the scenic route. These are a few of my favorite things.
