--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: When we first started, we were a band…" description: "\"When we first started, we were a band from Athens and that was so off the map.\" — Michael Stipe" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/6d8/michael-stipe-6714_athens_when-we-first-started-we-were-a-band-fro_2525555.png" --- # When we first started, we were a band from Athens and that… ![“When we first started, we were a band from Athens and that was so off the map.” quote by Michael Stipe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/6d8/michael-stipe-6714_athens_when-we-first-started-we-were-a-band-fro_2525555.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/6d8/michael-stipe-6714_athens_when-we-first-started-we-were-a-band-fro_2525555.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/6d8/michael-stipe-6714_athens_when-we-first-started-we-were-a-band-fro_2525555.png) > “When we first started, we were a band from Athens and that was so off the map.” [Michael Stipe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-stipe/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Starting from obscurity, perseverance can bring a local act to global recognition. **In simple terms:** From small beginnings to big success. Key Takeaway Persist despite being unknown. Themes perseverance music growth Mood hopeful determined Type storytelling motivation When to use this quote - Local gigs - tour planning - media outreach - fan engagement Key Concepts Cultural diffusion grassroots movement Questions to Reflect On - What steps can a small group take to expand reach? - How does staying true to roots affect growth? A Different Perspective Overcoming limited resources is challenging. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Athens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/athens/) [Song](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/song/) [Ukulele](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ukulele/) ## Related quotes > [When I first started out in the band, I had so many walls up.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/adrianne-lenker/when-i-first-started-out-in-the-band-i-had-so-many-walls-up/) [Adrianne Lenker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/adrianne-lenker/) > [So, we just kind of created our own thing and that's part of the beauty of Athens: is that it's so off the map…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-stipe/so-we-just-kind-of-created-our-own-thing-and-that-s-part-of-the/) [Michael Stipe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-stipe/) > [So, we went from being an Athens band to being a Georgia band to being a Southern band to being an American band from…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-stipe/so-we-went-from-being-an-athens-band-to-being-a-georgia-band-to-being/) [Michael Stipe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-stipe/) > [We started as a band that struggled; none of us had money, and tried to make it, not because we wanted money but because…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-dolmayan/we-started-as-a-band-that-struggled-none-of-us-had-money-and-tried-to/) [John Dolmayan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-dolmayan/) > [I was two years old when I told my mom I was going to be in a band when I grew up, and I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tim-kinsella/i-was-two-years-old-when-i-told-my-mom-i-was-going-to-be-in-a-band/) [Tim Kinsella](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tim-kinsella/) > [We started this band as kids, and as time has gone on, we've grown and are learning to accommodate each others' differences.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/layne-staley/we-started-this-band-as-kids-and-as-time-has-gone-on-we-ve-grown-and/) [Layne Staley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/layne-staley/) > [I went to Berlin to study psychology but decided that I was more interested in music and started an R and B band.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gary-wright/i-went-to-berlin-to-study-psychology-but-decided-that-i-was-more/) [Gary Wright](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gary-wright/) > [If I were to give advice to someone that just started a band and how to get someone's attention, you've gotta have a central…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tyler-joseph/if-i-were-to-give-advice-to-someone-that-just-started-a-band-and-how/) [Tyler Joseph](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tyler-joseph/) > [When we started the band, I was really like, "We just want to make a lot of records" - not quite unlike Guided By…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/craig-finn/when-we-started-the-band-i-was-really-like-we-just-want-to-make-a-lot/) [Craig Finn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/craig-finn/) > [Patrick and Joe were so young when we started the band. As slow as it was, with all the touring and crappy clubs we…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andy-hurley/patrick-and-joe-were-so-young-when-we-started-the-band-as-slow-as-it/) [Andy Hurley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andy-hurley/) > [ I started a band \[Big Japan\] for fun. These sticks break easily, but they feel good. ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/adam-brody/i-started-a-band-big-japan-for-fun-these-sticks-break-easily-but-they/) [Adam Brody](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/adam-brody/) > [Shannon and all of us started the band so it just felt really natural, and then she quit, and then she came back, and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/theresa-wayman/shannon-and-all-of-us-started-the-band-so-it-just-felt-really-natural/) [Theresa Wayman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/theresa-wayman/) > [That was the special thing about the Carolina Chocolate Drops. We didn't want to do music full-time. We weren't looking to get rich, which…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rhiannon-giddens/that-was-the-special-thing-about-the-carolina-chocolate-drops-we-didn/) [Rhiannon Giddens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rhiannon-giddens/) > ['Daydream' brought us to the top of the heap of the indie-college market and recognition by all of our peers; 'Daydream' kind of capped…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lee-ranaldo/daydream-brought-us-to-the-top-of-the-heap-of-the-indie-college/) [Lee Ranaldo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lee-ranaldo/) > [When we started the band, it was because we were waiting for a sound that never happened. We got tired of waiting, and we…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mike-shinoda/when-we-started-the-band-it-was-because-we-were-waiting-for-a-sound/) [Mike Shinoda](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mike-shinoda/) ## More by Michael Stipe > [We don't get groupies.We get teenagers who want to read us their poetry.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-stipe/we-don-t-get-groupies-we-get-teenagers-who-want-to-read-us-their/) [Michael Stipe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-stipe/) > [ At the \[teenage\] time, I did have an inkling of my sexuality. And I had an inkling that I was different from other people… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-stipe/at-the-teenage-time-i-did-have-an-inkling-of-my-sexuality-and-i-had/) [Michael Stipe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-stipe/) > [I don't find R.E.M. to be nihilistic. There is a constant undertone of joyous optimism. I'm not going to kill myself to Patti Smith…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-stipe/i-don-t-find-r-e-m-to-be-nihilistic-there-is-a-constant-undertone-of/) [Michael Stipe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-stipe/) > [ I simply constructed a project to try to snap Kurt \[Cobain\] out of a frame of mind. I sent him a plane ticket and… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-stipe/i-simply-constructed-a-project-to-try-to-snap-kurt-cobain-out-of-a/) [Michael Stipe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-stipe/) > [I was vulnerable every day. Every night that I stepped on stage I was laying myself open.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-stipe/i-was-vulnerable-every-day-every-night-that-i-stepped-on-stage-i-was/) [Michael Stipe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-stipe/) > [We're absolutely American and distinctly so, I think. That's part of what people respond to outside of this country, part of the reason that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-stipe/we-re-absolutely-american-and-distinctly-so-i-think-that-s-part-of/) [Michael Stipe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-stipe/) > [ \[Columbia House\] magazines were how I found out about the punk world going on in New York. Because of what I read, at the… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-stipe/columbia-house-magazines-were-how-i-found-out-about-the-punk-world/) [Michael Stipe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-stipe/) > [I'm tired of being this solemn poet of the masses, the enigma shrouded in a mystery.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-stipe/i-m-tired-of-being-this-solemn-poet-of-the-masses-the-enigma-shrouded/) [Michael Stipe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-stipe/) > [Frankly I'm not great with heroin addicts. I tried heroin, but it was by accident. I'm not great with that level of substance abuse.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-stipe/frankly-i-m-not-great-with-heroin-addicts-i-tried-heroin-but-it-was/) [Michael Stipe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-stipe/) > [The whole punk ethic was do-it-yourself, and I've always been very literal, especially as a kid. When they said that anybody can do this,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-stipe/the-whole-punk-ethic-was-do-it-yourself-and-i-ve-always-been-very/) [Michael Stipe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-stipe/) > [They spoke truth and a lot of people listened… that voice, Kurt we miss you.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-stipe/they-spoke-truth-and-a-lot-of-people-listened-that-voice-kurt-we-miss/) [Michael Stipe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-stipe/) > [A wise man once said-'the skill in attending a party is knowing when it's time to leave,'](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-stipe/a-wise-man-once-said-the-skill-in-attending-a-party-is-knowing-when/) [Michael Stipe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-stipe/) > [They always want me to play myself and that's a big snooze.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-stipe/they-always-want-me-to-play-myself-and-that-s-a-big-snooze/) [Michael Stipe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-stipe/) > [Anything you do as a group is fraught with compromise... But everyone 's got to do that, right? It's part of being a good…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-stipe/anything-you-do-as-a-group-is-fraught-with-compromise-but-everyone-s/) [Michael Stipe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-stipe/) > [To be called an elder statesman is so unbelievably insulting. Brad Pitt is exactly three years younger than me.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-stipe/to-be-called-an-elder-statesman-is-so-unbelievably-insulting-brad/) [Michael Stipe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-stipe/) [Explore all 98 Michael Stipe quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-stipe/) ## More Athens quotes > [The Parthenon is really only a farmyard over which someone put a roof; colonades and sculptures were added because there were people in Athens…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pablo-picasso/the-parthenon-is-really-only-a-farmyard-over-which-someone-put-a-roof/) [Pablo Picasso](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pablo-picasso/) > [As for Aliki - if you were to stand in the middle of Rome and say the name Sophia Loren, or Paris and say…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ali-smith/as-for-aliki-if-you-were-to-stand-in-the-middle-of-rome-and-say-the/) [Ali Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ali-smith/) > [Homer, Hesiod, Pythagoras, Plato, and Cicero, just to name a few, all lived in pagan societies. Some of the greatest political and military leaders…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brendan-myers/homer-hesiod-pythagoras-plato-and-cicero-just-to-name-a-few-all-lived/) [Brendan Myers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brendan-myers/) > [Athens, much like Austin, is a difficult music scene. There are so many musicians there that it is hard to get gigs and hard…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/corey-smith/athens-much-like-austin-is-a-difficult-music-scene-there-are-so-many/) [Corey Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/corey-smith/) > [The sophists were as a rule men who had traveled widely and seen different forms of government. Both conventions and local laws in the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jostein-gaarder/the-sophists-were-as-a-rule-men-who-had-traveled-widely-and-seen/) [Jostein Gaarder](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jostein-gaarder/) > [You look around the world at geniuses, and they don't appear randomly, they appear in genius clusters. Athens in 50 BC, Florence 1500, Silicon…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eric-weiner/you-look-around-the-world-at-geniuses-and-they-don-t-appear-randomly/) [Eric Weiner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eric-weiner/) > [Misgovernment is of four kinds, often in combination. They are: 1) tyranny or oppression, of which history provides so many well-known examples that they…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barbara-tuchman/misgovernment-is-of-four-kinds-often-in-combination-they-are-1/) [Barbara Tuchman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barbara-tuchman/) > [Athens will again be the host of the Games in 2004, but there are rumors that they might be switched if the Greeks don't…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-toomey/athens-will-again-be-the-host-of-the-games-in-2004-but-there-are/) [Bill Toomey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-toomey/) > [“South of Larissa the landscape began to change. Jude watched an irrigation machine like a giant stick insect creeping over a field, and a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-alkazraji/south-of-larissa-the-landscape-began-to-change-jude-watched-an/) [Paul Alkazraji](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-alkazraji/) > [I said it before we arrived in Athens, that we wanted to prove to the world that our bronze medal in Sweden was not…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gianluca-basile/i-said-it-before-we-arrived-in-athens-that-we-wanted-to-prove-to-the/) Gianluca Basile > [In the infancy of civilization, when our island was as savage as New Guinea, when letters and arts were still unknown to Athens, when…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-b-macaulay/in-the-infancy-of-civilization-when-our-island-was-as-savage-as-new/) [Thomas B. Macaulay](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-b-macaulay/) > [I always look back to my first Olympic medal in 2004 in Athens. I was very new to the sport, and it was my…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/allyson-felix/i-always-look-back-to-my-first-olympic-medal-in-2004-in-athens-i-was/) [Allyson Felix](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/allyson-felix/) > [The commonwealth of Athens is become a forest of beasts.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-shakespeare/the-commonwealth-of-athens-is-become-a-forest-of-beasts/) [William Shakespeare](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-shakespeare/) > [Anacharsis coming to Athens, knocked at Solon's door, and told him that he, being a stranger, was come to be his guest, and contract…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/plutarch/anacharsis-coming-to-athens-knocked-at-solon-s-door-and-told-him-that/) [Plutarch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/plutarch/) > [It was appointed by law in Athens, that the obsequies of the citizens who fell in battle should be performed at the public expense,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-everett/it-was-appointed-by-law-in-athens-that-the-obsequies-of-the-citizens/) [Edward Everett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-everett/) [Browse all 171 Athens quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/athens/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "When we first started, we were a band from Athens and that was so off the map.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Michael Stipe" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-stipe/when-we-first-started-we-were-a-band-from-athens-and-that-was-so-off/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Athens" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-stipe/when-we-first-started-we-were-a-band-from-athens-and-that-was-so-off/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/6d8/michael-stipe-6714_athens_when-we-first-started-we-were-a-band-fro_2525555.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/6d8/michael-stipe-6714_athens_when-we-first-started-we-were-a-band-fro_2525555.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/6d8/michael-stipe-6714_athens_when-we-first-started-we-were-a-band-fro_2525555.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“When we first started, we were a band from Athens and that was so off the map.” — Michael Stipe", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } }, { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Quotes", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "Michael Stipe", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-stipe/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "When we first started, we were...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-stipe/when-we-first-started-we-were-a-band-from-athens-and-that-was-so-off/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-stipe/when-we-first-started-we-were-a-band-from-athens-and-that-was-so-off/#breadcrumb" }, { "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "publisher": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } }, { "@type": "Organization", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "logo": { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png", "width": 512, "height": 512 } } ] } ```