Putting out the things that I like best hasn't been the easiest way to run a label, and it still isn't because it requires finding an audience for each record.

Punk rock really came out of N.Y. as a philosophy before the groups were ever recorded. I had a kind-of intellectual interest in the idea of creating a new scene that could be a grassroots thing.

The REM and Nirvana successes don't mean much to me except as a potential distraction for bands who want to cash in on the trend. Don't try to sound like someone else. REM and Nirvana don't sound like anyone else.

Putting out the things that I like best hasn't been the easiest way to run a label, and it still isn't because it requires finding an audience for each record.

There are several books out on punk history, but I haven't read any of them. I was there.

People from major labels were afraid to go to Black Flag gigs throughout most of the band's existence. They treated our gigs as something threatening. I'm sure that it probably was. They probably had reasons to be scared.

As a label, you have to treat every group and every record as a unique entity. I think that that has been our success, rather than relying upon a fan base.

The public is usually slow to catch on to new things, and it's important that musicians stick to their guns and not look for that instant gratification.

The Minutemen were seen as more of an art thing than Black Flag, although I didn't see them that way. It confused people when we put out Saccharine Trust, too.

The English scene got more media attention with their emphasis on fashion, with the safety pins and all. There were some really good bands over there. The Sex Pistols were great.

If people are really excited about their music, and that's their primary motivation, then that comes through in demo tapes. That's the most important ingredient.

We're not good at propping up old carcasses. We want to be on top of what's vital at any particular time, and not just hold onto something because it has a name.

We've gotten involved in cat rescue - we take them in and find homes for them. I've always loved cats. I saw how homeless cats were living out there. We take them in, put out flyers.

We aren't as concerned about the live aspect as other labels. The best live bands are the easiest to record.

I didn't want to wait around for some business entity to come around and give me money and tell me what to do. We just started releasing records as best we could.

There's not much music I'll listen to if it doesn't have pretty heavy swing. Rhythm is so important. Punk rock would have more power and feeling if it had swing.

I listen to everything that comes in. I'm not real worried about demo sound quality. I can hear through that sort of thing. If a band can play, then they can play.

Black Flag was formed in 1977. We first recorded in 1978.

It took us two years to get our first real gig. That was a big dream. We ended up booking a lot of our own gigs and putting on a lot of our own shows. We were trying to get our actual music across, trying to make a connection there.

The biggest disappointment has been seeing the number of people in this business with very shortsighted views.

You have to keep the business side together as well as the creative side. We have constantly surprised people and stayed with bands until they have grown on people.

We had a lot of riots. We came under attack from many of the police departments. It certainly wasn't some publicity thing. I was afraid for many years. We couldn't play in LA for many years. A lot of people got very cynical.

The small companies who feel that the majors are a threat, or are predators, will use that as an excuse for their eventual downfall. Don't blame others for your own inadequacies.

I like a lot of electronica. I like older jazz rather than newer.

SST was formed to put out the first Black Flag record. Basically, there wasn't anyone else to do it. I felt that what I was doing with Black Flag was very worthwhile, and I wanted to get it out there.

I still think the best metal bands have a blues feel. The first Black Sabbath album is kind of a bludgeoning of blues. Deep Purple also started out as a blues band.

Stores can be indifferent to something new.

I had business experience. I had made my living designing and building electronic equipment. Basic business was not new to me, but the music business was completely new to me. I knew nothing about distribution, or any of those things.

We were excited when we sold our first 10 records. I always felt that if we could get the music out there, and if people became accustomed to it, then a substantial number of them would enjoy it.

I didn't have a lot of overtly political songs. I think it was more the actions of the group that were threatening to the authorities, and also our political philosophies apart from the music.

Most good things happen with time; especially music, which needs time to breathe and to find its own way.

There aren't enough people who are scaring the kind of people who work at these record companies.

It has been great portraying Gollum, but it will be great to see my face on screen for a change.

Nobody can make me cry in public. I'll punch them first before they make my mascara smear.

I want people to look at a checkerboard and think of me!

Sometimes, you follow your dreams. I say to the young people, "If you have a dream, chase it."

By 1976, I was, like, Gonesville. I practically lived at the Troubador for several years. When Bette Midler was there for six weeks, I went every day for both shows. I sat there mesmerized. The only person who went as much as I did was Cher.

I'm thrilled to partner with Gillette to help men understand what women want. If we're able to give them that information, and Gillette can give them the tools to get there, then we both win, and that's very exciting.

I hate all that woozy political and psychotherapeutic crap applied to books and art.

I never look at how many songs I have or how many girls are there in a movie. If I like my character, I play it.

I have never met a woman who works who doesn't feel guilty. I mean we all deny it like crazy but deep down there is always that voice saying you should be at home.

I give my grandfather, Dr Harold Young, a forestry Professor at the University of Maine, full credit for my career path. He pioneered the use of aerial photography in forestry in the 1950s, and we think he worked as a spy for the CIA during the Cold War, mapping Russian installations.

Winning fires me up.

I honestly don't even know how I got into acting. It happened so quickly because my mom and sister used to do commercials, and apparently when I was little I would unbuckle myself from the stroller and crash their auditions.

And it's one thing to give people freedom and something else to deny the rights of Christians to assert their faith in order to keep Hindus from feeling upset.

I don't think there is anything owed to us. You've got to go out and work hard for every round win.

I think smart is sexy. I like smart people. People that are comfortable with themselves I think is very sexy. My cat is really sexy.

There must be room for the imagination to exercise its powers; we must conceive and apprehend a thousand things which we do not actually witness.

I tend to watch a little TV... Court TV, once in a while. Some of the cases I get interested in.