The 54th annual Grammy Awards took place on February 12, 2012, at the Staples Center in Los Angeles. Bon Iver lead singer Justin Vernon was there to represent the band. Here is what this Grammy winner said backstage in the Grammy Awards press room.
Winner of:
Best New Artist
Best Alternative Album (“Bon Iver”)
How does it feel to be a Grammy winner?
Really great. I feel wonderful.
Is there any particular song, artist or moment that inspired you to become a musician?
In 1984, at the New Orleans Jazz and Heritage Festival, I saw Joan Baez, Indigo Girls and Michelle Malone do “Wild Horses,” a cover [version] of the Rolling Stones [song]. I was sitting there when I was 14 years with my mom and my sister. We watched them play. And they got to the part where they say, “Let’s do some living after we die.” And that’s when I knew I had to play guitar for the rest of my life.
What did it feel like for you whey first arrived at the Grammy Awards tonight?
I don’t know what I felt like. Just honored to be here. I felt like the nominations that we got were just ridiculous and really thoughtful of whoever made that decision.
Were you nervous at all about being here at the Grammys?
I was a little nervous. I called my managers. One of them is my brother. I kind of called them in January and said, “You know, guys, I don’t know if I can go.” I was pretty nervous. There was a lot of emotions, like maybe I didn’t deserve to go, or like I wasn’t ready to be in front of y’all, in front of all those people or something.
It’s the biggest night in music, but there’s so much music out there that can’t be represented in this one night. And so I had a lot of confusion going in. I’m glad I came. I felt really honored and stuff.
Why didn’t Bon Iver perform tonight?
We didn’t decide not to perform. We kind of had a conversation with Ken [Ehrlich] the executive producer [of the Grammy Awards], and it kind of turned out that with the Beach Boys coming back, that’s kind of a big deal. So I kind of decided that I wanted to do something with my band and play our song, but there wasn’t really time for that tonight.
Now that you’ve won two Grammys, do you think more people will know who you are and treat you like a rock star?
Probably not. Not everybody, but it’s OK. You can call it whatever you want.
For more info: Grammy Awards website
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