Laura Jane Grace

“I look like a dude and feel like a dude, and it sucks. But eventually I'll flip, and I'll present as female.”

“When I'm on tour, people see me in one way, but in normal life I doubt people even recognize me.”

“Society doesn't portray transsexual people in a very positive light.”

“I guess I've been existing in my own head a lot.”

“I think the hardest part for musicians is what a wide gulf of time there is between when you decide to sober up and when you have the ability to navigate being social and having relationships and being in a band and having friends while sober.”

“If you look at the difference between the first Clash record and 'Combat Rock,' what an evolution.”

“As a trans person, I don't feel welcome in most public spaces. Especially now with Trump, I don't feel faith or recognize that we're protected by the government or administration.”

“There were definitely songs in the past that were me dealing with living this gender dysphoria, and sometimes they were really direct and no one picked up on it - but oftentimes, they were more veiled in metaphor.”

“At 20, I was married, working as an auto mechanic, and living in Gainesville. I was doing Against Me!, but it wasn't by any means a full-time gig.”

“My first record I ever got was 'Full Moon Fever.' My dad gave me a copy when I was maybe nine years old or something. And I listened to the heck out of that record. I loved that record.”

“My least favorite thing about being in a band is photo shoots and video shoots. I like writing songs.”

“I just always knew that's what I wanted to do. I wanted to be a musician. I never had any doubts.”

“The key to being a great band that lasts is always going to be making sure you write really good songs and put on really good shows.”

“Eating's really important before getting tattooed. You need energy.”

“I've never had trouble talking and expressing my feelings.”

“Maybe you don't know who a person is just based on the way they dress. I know that's a really simple thing you're supposed to be taught really young, but sometimes you can forget.”

“A lot of people don't perceive me as female or trans, they just see some rocker.”

“I'm totally fine with myself. It's the other people I run into out there who are so hung up on gender. The way it trips them up is their problem, not mine.”

“I've been keeping tour journals since I was 17 years old.”

“I was always attracted to women.”