Kim Shattuck

I really can't categorize the Muffs music.

I have that weird thing where, if someone confronts me, I just get as bold as possible.

Heavy metal is the enemy. Everybody but me keeps going back and forth between metal and punk, but I'm narrow-minded and a purist. I'd never mess with it.

A lot of people accuse me of copying Courtney Love.

When people hear sing-songy melodies, they think the lyrics will be nice, too. I guess there's a depressing or psychotic side to my personality that pops out in the lyrics.

I was going through a lot of upheavals in my brain. The only way I could really get stuff out was to write songs.

I hate it when songwriters go on and on with the same idea.

I like inventive melodies and chord changes, a little bit of creativity.

For a show, I can bear a little longer than 45 minutes, not including encores.

I always liked really heavy guitar music, but didn't like the long-winded songs that went with it. And I always liked pop songs, but was driven nuts because the guitars were so wimpy sounding. So I decided to put the two together. That's how the Muffs started.

I grew up around religious and elevator music. I didn't know any better, so I just thought music was kind of bland. So I didn't listen to much as kid.

It was only later that I found out there was good '70s rock like the Raspberries and the Flaming Groovies. I always gravitated toward the '60s music more, though, like the Kinks, the Who and the Beatles, of course.

People who like girl bands are really different from regular band fans.

I hate dancing.

I like clubs, I like sweat, I like people right up in my space.

I'm glad we're not splattered all over MTV, because I don't think that's entirely the right way to go about building a career. Look at Green Day - they were built up - and then came crashing down. The overexposure is just too much of a burnout for most people.

People get sucked into being so show-bizy. I mean this is show biz, but I just can't do anything that's not in my DNA.

I am a perfectionist and the only reason why I started producing is because I didn't want to argue with a producer.

The whole idea of doing an album is overwhelming sometimes. But, I get inspired when I get inspired and that's when it flows easily.

All the songs that I'm not sure are good, everyone likes the best.

I always complain.

I've been singing quieter because I live in a thin-walled apartment.

I wasn't in any hurry to grow up and become this worldly person.

I gravitated toward photography. That's what I really did well.

When I wanted to join the Pandoras, my mom had an anxiety attack.

I think real life is weirder than fiction.

Sometimes I'll go without writing for a while and I'll start to be driven nuts. I start doubting my writing ability. So I'll sit down and a dozen songs will pop out. It's fun.

I got sick and tired of hearing bands that didn't mean anything to me. I mean, there are some bands out there that are good, but if you want to hear stuff you want to hear, you got to do it yourself.

I've always had something turning in my brain. And it got to a point where I felt it was stupid to let some of the tunes die. So I began putting them down on paper.

Salt Lake's got a cool vibe.

I had heard a live show, where my voice didn't sound the way I wanted to hear it and I got paranoid. I'm not an amazing singer, I just belt it out in this crappy old way, but for a while I had it in my head that I couldn't sing.

I'm a huge fan of sing-songy lyrics and loud guitars. Whatever punk band does that gets a gold star!

You can't have an ego when you're a team. One person can't really rule the roost.

When I first wanted to play guitar it was because I had seen Brian Setzer. He's so good! I mean I was just blown away.

I like Dave Davies from the Kinks, before he could play slick.

My first guitar was an Ibanez semi-hollowbody, I think it was called the Artist, from the early '80s.

I'm still a fan of the Pixies!

Sadly, it runs in my damn family, and that disease is a mystery to just about every scientist! We are definitely interested in finding a cure for ALS! Cure it already!

I saw the Bangles before I was in a band. I really liked their rhythm. That was right when I was trying to learn how to play guitar. I was really frustrated because I couldn't strum, and then I saw Susannah Hoffs do this cool strum on a song, and it was my goal after that to learn how to do that strum.

When people get older, they get bitter or get cute.

I've actually said 'get off my grass' to people before. They were skateboarding on my grass!

There was a show at the Mayan in Los Angeles where I got overly enthusiastic and jumped into the crowd, and I know they weren't thrilled about that. When I got offstage the manager told me not to do that again. I said, 'Really, for my own safety?' And he said, 'No, because the Pixies don't do that.'

I've got too much fire in my blood.

All the best bands have to have more than just one strong songwriter.

I just don't like to do photography for money.

The Beatles were a huge influence on me to write really good melodies.

The one thing about songwriting that's been consistent is that I do it for the love of a good melody.

I'm not an amazing engineer; I'm just super basic. I'm pretty cavalier about it - I stick the mic wherever it sounds good.

You can tell a dumb guy a mile away.

The Pandoras began as a '60s punk group. Then they went pop, then metal. When they went metal, I quit because I hate heavy metal music and I wanted to write my own songs.