Ed Kowalczyk

“I took a page out of the U2 book. They've always had a universal approach. Nobody doubts they're Christian, but there's an open door for everybody in any faith to consume the music at any level.”

“I think that every band, whether they admit it or not, is going out there to succeed. I've always worn that on my sleeve.”

“We've always been a band that questions things.”

“We don't want Offspring-itis, Green Day-itis: you know, that thing where bands are all over the place at once, getting everything at once - major airplay on radio, major airplay on MTV.”

“All my favorite artists were pretty serious in the sense that their music was something I could sink my teeth into, from Peter Gabriel to U2 to these artists that made me want to read the lyrics and dig into it.”

“Open Wings - Broken Strings is an opportunity for you to get to the heart of your favorite artists and their songs in a unique and compelling way. Stripped down, intimate and acoustic, you'll hear the strings on the guitar vibrate and buzz, the vocal chords hum and pulsate as the songs you love come to life like you never knew they could.”

“I kind of spooked myself about getting older. It's not that bad really.”

“The way you perform really depends on the way you live your life. It's not two separate things.”

“You look at a song like 'Lightning Crashes,' and it's just so universal.”

“What I think shines through for us is that we have a real respect for the music and a real reverence.”

“I grew up in an area that was the typical city that was a racially divided and economically segregated place. And it had a big influence on me.”

“Until you solve problems like fear individually, resolve why individuals feel the need to believe in whatever, there's really no point in organizations, in things that turn the world into a concept rather than an individual fact.”

“You're living in a fantasy to think that music can actually change something.”

“I've never had trouble finding inspiration for new songs, no matter what I'm doing.”

“We never really write 'love' love songs. There's always something twisted about them. But as far as love songs, women just became way more important to us after we turned 21, as a band in general. Kind of broke up our boyhood solidarity as we started branching out into babes.”

“Music, in its clearest and simplest form, can be a catalyst to thought, but that's about it.”

“One of the lyrics from Bono that always sticks with me is 'Where the Streets Have No Name.' Just the name of the song, that sort of oneness, and there isn't any division in yourself, and your just at peace and fired up at the same time.”

“When we were starting out as a band, I was addicted to college radio.”

“I think the message of the Live/Counting Crows tour is that, aside from what's going on trendwise, if you dig a little, you can always find something to inspire you.”

“I've never allowed my specific personal practice or belief to be overtly integrated to the music. Because that's crossing the line into, 'We want you to think this.' And that's not what we're about.”