I take any project on a month or two at a time. Meaning, I don't think too far ahead.
— Fred Armisen
If something seems like a little venue, don't treat it like that. Do it all. If you're sort of wondering why you're doing something at some location, just do it - any size theater, production, or whatever. It's all helpful.
I really loved touring with my band, but it felt like we would spend a lot of time playing in empty rooms - empty clubs. We had some good successes, but it's so physically hard to load up a van and drive all day.
There's almost no such thing as a hipster.
The way James Franco goes to new projects, he does it the way an artist should, which is with a question mark. Like, will this work?
The bands that were big in '77, like the Clash and the Sex Pistols and Talking Heads, I got into them in the early '80s. And it changed my life. It got into my DNA.
I would never play a character that wasn't true. It's not a moral thing; it's just that it's more convincing if it's a little bit like me.
When 'Pale Fire' came out, that album was a big friend of mine. I've just always purely been a fan of El Perro del Mar.
I will always, no matter what, be a punk more than anything.
I love driving. Listen to some music.
There's no judgment on bands that continue on who aren't popular; some people get enjoyment out of it. I'm just not one of those people.
I love painters because I don't paint, so I get to enjoy art; I like collecting paintings.
Fereydun, that's my dad's name. My grandmother, my dad's mom, when she was pregnant, she was dating a man from Persia, a Persian gentleman. It wasn't his child, but he was still very supportive and said, 'Hey, this is a great name,' and so it stuck. So that's what she named him.
I actually, legitimately feel that I'm not busy enough. I want to be so busy that it's overwhelming.
When you're in a band, you spend most of your time in a van. Like, there were four of us, we toured all the time, and you're stuck looking at three other people for a month straight. And all of those times, we all just liked making fun of people, doing impressions of people, coming up with songs.
My favorite album is 'Ram' by Paul and Linda McCartney.
I am opposed to vacations and leisure. I try to make every day a work day. Even if there's nothing on my schedule, I will try do at least one task that is work-related.
I'll just say that there are times when TV shows, like 'The Honeymooners' or 'I Love Lucy' or something, where they're totally in their stride, and this thing happens, where you can tell they got everything they wanted. And it starts to look a little relaxed. No criticism to the shows whatsoever; these people are geniuses.
Surround yourself with people you like and respect; surround yourself with people you just want to be around and keep making things.
When I used to see Rick Moranis do something, to me that was immediately funny. Or George Carlin or Martin Lawrence.
You should approach everything in life like, 'What is this?'
Missing something doesn't help anything. You can only look at the future, what you can keep doing.
I was actually late to the punk movement because I was too young.
As far as value goes, obviously it's nicer to be in an environment where you feel comfortable. But it's also clear that it's probably not the most realistic thing.
El Perro del Mar sort of accompanied my time at 'SNL.' To concentrate and focus, I would play the bass to one of her songs from her third album.
I think Ian MacKaye is everything that I always wanted to be.
I feel like Miami is way, way too hot.
I was really close to being this guy who used to be in this band who is still playing and trying to get some recordings together, but I got really lucky.
I don't know anything about the wine world at all.
That's one of the great things about Los Angeles, that people just play music, and it's all very welcoming and welcomed.
I travel a lot. I'll go back and forth, you know, West Coast-East Coast, but it's separated by segments. So it's not a daily thing.
I wanted so badly to be in a famous band, and it was not happening. I played drums with different bands and with the Blue Man Group in Chicago, but I definitely felt like, 'Wow, I did not picture my life being like this.'
I am immediately disinterested when I hear mountain-climbing stories.
Sometimes 'Portlandia' can be pretty traditional. But the stuff I've always loved on 'SNL' has always been the weirdest stuff I've done. The stuff that went on at 10 to 1 in the morning.
I believe in limitations. I think the worst art ever made - in my opinion, because it's all so subjective - is where the artist had complete freedom.
I really like watching TV at home.
I was impersonating people way, way, way early, as far back as I can remember. And I would do people on my street for my parents, I remember. And in school, I did the same thing with all the teachers. It was just like, I mean, it was something I loved to do. I don't think there was a time when I wasn't doing it. I was always doing it.
Wayne Coyne has put out Flaming Lips records in gummy bear skulls and all these different kinds of packaging that's really, really inventive. And that's what you should always do.
I will always consider myself a punk because of those experiences in high school. It will always be a part of me.
I'm not by nature a cynical person. But sometimes your expectations are different from reality.
I'd want to direct a video for Yoko Ono. As long as I got to work with Yoko Ono someday, I'd be really happy. I just think she's such a great artist - it would just be so nice.
Over the years, El Perro del Mar became this artist that, every record that came out, I just loved it.
I find it weird to use my own voice on TV.
I would see people on TV, or I'd see bands I really liked, and I thought, 'I want that.'
I spent most of my 20s playing music. I was in a band, and we worked really hard and did not get very far.
Panned or not, 'Dune' is a real part of science-fiction filmmaking.
I have a problem with sweets. I have an inability to eat a just little bit. It's almost like I can't even enjoy chocolate anymore - I have to stuff it into my brain, cram it into my ears.
I can't be bothered with narrative. It takes too long for me to try to think of it.
I'm glad I get to do characters. It's just like a Polaroid shot of whoever the person is, and to me, anyway, that's kind of what life is like. You get a general sense of somebody, and then we're all good, we get it. We understand each other.
My favorite song is 'Cybele's Reverie' by Stereolab.
