Crate Dig

"I thought that studying political science and philosophy would give me a knowledge of a bit of everything... history, the economy, the world - an understanding of the world. ... I'm really glad I did it and didn't start with music." - Gabi Hartmann

"The teen years, for me, when I was learning guitar were an emotional time, so I was writing poetry and songs. But I would hear a song that would move me or I'd relate to... And I want to put this song in my own voice." - Lissie

"Every great song, every great book, every great painting... at the core of that is love of the lack thereof. And I feel like it definitely is this driving force for all of us, whether we're conscious of it or not." - Courtney Marie Andrews

"Because the guitar is a unique instrument, it draws connections to everything. So I recognize the privileged position I'm in to play an instrument that is as at home in David Lindley's hands as it is in the greatest Flamenco guitarist's hands... as it is in Joni Mitchell's." - Julian Lage

"There was this magic of putting together chords and notes and rhymes with the storytelling. It was a privilege... It's making a film for the ears and I thought, 'This is a magical profession.' And I still think so." - Keren Ann

"We would drive around in my parents' GMC Savannah van and listen to the CD of 'Stand by Me.' ...When I think of bubblegum '50s pop, just bright, golden days when everyone was optimistic, I think of late '90s San Francisco as a very happy, golden time." - Patton Magee

"The one that really, forever, sticks with me is meeting Elliott Smith. It was '95 or '96. Jon Brion...had been introduced to Elliott and went out and filled a shopping bag with Elliott Smith albums and distributed them to his friends. I was fortunate that I was among them." - Grant-Lee Phillips

"I tend to not be drawn to rhyming poems because it plays into the sing-songy part of my brain. So I really enjoy poets like Mary [Oliver] that create their own rhythm in other ways. And it's not usually in that classic structure, but in the way ideas build and form." - Caroline Spence