Interviews | December 11, 2020

from “Interview: A Conversation with Jeff Tweedy”

PIAFSKY: How did you come to be friends with George Saunders?

TWEEDY: We were both booked to be on the last show of The Colbert Report, and it was an extravaganza with a hundred guests, from Barry Manilow to Katie Couric. At one point I went up to Saunders and said, “It takes all kinds. We’ve got Cookie Monster and Henry Kissinger, who’s a war criminal. But I sought him out, and he sought me out, which was sweet. The book he was working on at the time, he’d been listening to one of my songs, “One Sunday Morning,” and he sought me out to tell me. The first thing I ever said to him was, “Of everyone here, you’re the one I’m most excited to meet,” and he said, “Then we’re just gonna have to be pals.” He’s one of the most gentle, warm people on earth. And we’ve kept in touch over the years and gone on hiking vacations together.