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Memphis held onto me until I was far enough along in my art and then it let me go.

Valerie June

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Valerie June
Age: 42
Born: 1982
Born: January 10
Banjoist
Singer
Singer-Songwriter
Songwriter
Jackson
Tennessee
Valerie June Hockett
Memphis
Onto
Held
Along
Art
Enough

More quotes by Valerie June

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They're all personal and self-created challenges that I think I've overcome within myself. Being confident enough to get on stage and play, things like that.
Valerie June
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When I was a kid, I always wanted to go to Europe, to go to Africa, to go traveling.
Valerie June
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Even the sad roots songs have a lot of good stories to them, and the murder ballads are good too. I mean, who doesn't like to watch a nice gory murder film on TV?
Valerie June
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I don't even want to call it God. I just want to call it connecting with something that's greater than I am. So that's the biggest thing from Tennessee - the spirit.
Valerie June
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I am always excited about playing in front of live audiences because I really enjoy it, for the most part.
Valerie June
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I try to write down every song that comes to me, even though I know that every song that comes to me isnt a song that I need to sing.
Valerie June
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If my parents hadn't been made to do that from living in the Bible Belt, maybe it wouldn't be something that matters to me - maybe I wouldn't even know how to talk to God.
Valerie June
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I met PJ Harvey when I was in England, and the first thing I want to do when I meet a songwriter I admire is to ask them how do they receive songs.
Valerie June
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I just love music, and I absorbed what I love.
Valerie June
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I can't believe the ignorance there, so I don't allow it to affect my life, I don't allow it to come into my zone, and it's not in my world, really.
Valerie June
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The point is to raise your voice and be heard to God. You really are just celebrating being in the presence of other people that believe the same things you believe.
Valerie June
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I think it's funny how people get confused when they think about church music, because a lot of times there is a soloist who stands out, but my church wasn't like that at all.
Valerie June
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There are a lot of murder ballads out there, but most of them are about killing the woman. I was like, We've gotta turn this around!
Valerie June
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I know a lot of people that don't pray or anything, and that's fine - but I need to. I don't even want to call it prayer, I just want to call it talking to something bigger than me.
Valerie June
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I have a lot of different collections of cards at home. It's hard to say my favorite deck, but there is a deck called the medicine cards, and it's Native American animal cards.
Valerie June
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When I think about singing, and music, I think about how the people who live on the East Tennessee side have more of a curve or yodel to their voices, and then you think about the curve of mountains.
Valerie June
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Even from when I was in grade school or church or wherever, I was always like: we're one, and we should respect each other and grow as one. And respect each other's diversity, of course.
Valerie June
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I feel a lot of cities are like, you go and you are trying to do your art, and there are so many other artists there who are so brilliant. And it's kind of like they stomp on the scene, and they are like, You're not already Picasso? Get the hell out of here! And Memphis is like, Well, you'll get there one day!
Valerie June
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My challenges have not been around music. My hardest thing in music was just sitting down and teaching myself how to play and believing in myself.
Valerie June
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As I try to get around with a guitar, a banjo and a suitcase of high heels and dresses, I treasure that little ukulele.
Valerie June