Concert halls are dark. Big arenas and small clubs are closed. Outdoor venues canceled their usual summer series. This hasn’t been a great year for live music. But that didn’t keep local musicians from staging streamed shows in their living rooms or from releasing new recordings. And throughout it all, they still loved talking about music. To mark the end of 2020, here’s a selection of quotes from some New England-based players about their personal – some of them very personal – experiences with music and performance. Vance Gilbert on audiences “I’ve always been made for the stage. I was a gregarious kid. I loved performing and being in front of people. All this other stuff – the songwriting, the guitar playing, the singing – came later. Thar was window dressing to, in a lot of ways, a very insecure kid who was happier being seen than not being seen. As a kid I made my own hand puppets and put on shows for myself. I had friends but because my brother was 10 years older than me, I was ostensibly an only child. I had alcoholic parents, so I spent a lot of time by myself. That’s why when I’m in front of an audience I’m pretty secure.”