Leo Kottke Quotes

Guitarist

Leo Kottke, born on September 11, 1945, is a renowned American guitarist. Known for his unique musical style that blends blues, folk, and jazz, Kottke is celebrated for his exceptional guitar skills and distinctive approach to music.

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All Ifs Thinking Audience Guitar Sound Air Feels Firsts Hard Hooked

Famous Leo Kottke Quotes

“All bad jazz sounds like Woody Woodpecker.”

Sound Jazz Woody Woodpeckers

Author:Leo Kottke

“When a record company looks at me I'm very hard to market, I don't really fit anywhere, It's hard to get me on the air, and I'm hard to demography, but! because of that I'm not subject to trends like you pointed out.”

Looks Hard Company Records Air Subjects Like You Fit Trends Look At Me Record Companies Demography

Author:Leo Kottke

“I don't spend a lot of time thinking of what they'll do musically, I try to imagine being locked into a windowless room with this person for twelve hours at a time. If you can look at that and think it might be fun then maybe you've got the right musician.”

Ifs Thinking Trying Looks Persons Might Fun Hours Rooms Imagine Musician Twelve Locked

Author:Leo Kottke

“I was taking a nose dive somewhere between eleven and twelve because my sister had died and I was practicing something that siblings do which is follow in their footsteps and die as well.”

Wells Dies Died Noses My Sister Twelve Sibling Eleven Footsteps

Author:Leo Kottke

“The principle element in a performance is risk, and if you're losing interest then by scaring yourself to death the audience will feel it and boy it'll wake them up.”

Ifs Feels Interest Boys Principles Audience Risk Elements Losing Performances Wake Up Losing Interest

Author:Leo Kottke

“I was required by Capital to release one every six months and the fastest I could do with all my touring was every nine months, and it would spook me every time because I never had what I needed and I really didn't want to do covers.”

Want Months Needed Six Scary Nine Release Six Months Touring Nine Months

Author:Leo Kottke

“Musically, I am still hooked and just hypnotized by the sound of the guitar itself. I mean, a guitar sounds good if you drop it on the floor.”

Ifs Mean Stills Sound Guitar Hooked Guitar Sound

Author:Leo Kottke

“I do have a library of events I can talk about and I always expect to find a different point of view on it so even if I talk about the same event in the same town it's fresh.”

Ifs I Can Different Views Air Events Towns Library Point Of View Different Points Of View

Author:Leo Kottke

“When the audience is awful you can still have a great night and people will walk out thinking they had a great time even though there was loads of loudmouths and the sound was terrible.”

People Thinking Stills Night Sound Walks Audience Terrible Awful Load Great Times Night Time Had A Great Time Great Night

Author:Leo Kottke

“You can't really tell what the audience wants but you can tell what will keep everybody's attention in the same place.”

Want Attention Audience

Author:Leo Kottke

“With all these great (guitar teachers) around here, don't cop their licks, COP THEIR ATTITUDE.”

Attitude Teacher Guitar Cop

Author:Leo Kottke

“I had been playing single note instruments and I wanted to hear a guitar played as a piano.”

Wanted Instruments Notes Guitar Piano

Author:Leo Kottke

“The bulk of my set is instrumental and you have to give yourself and the audience some relief because a performance is not about great guitar playing it's really about entertainment.”

Giving Audience Performances Guitar Entertainment Relief Guitar Playing

Author:Leo Kottke

“I would say that if you don't feel like talking to the crowd something is wrong and if you force yourself to talk to them things will happen and to that extent things aren't choreographed.”

Ifs Feels Happens Force Talking Crowds

Author:Leo Kottke

“I think if you are writing an instrumental you are dealing with more of an aesthetic in a sense but a lyric is more of a putting yourself on the line and a much more expensive exercise.”

Ifs Thinking Writing Lines Exercise Expensive Aesthetic

Author:Leo Kottke

“It's true that the more you put in the more you get out and that has to be there I think, If you aren't really hooked on your instrument this job would be a hell on earth but if you are, it's the best.”

Ifs Thinking Would Be Earth Jobs Hell Instruments Hooked Hell On Earth

Author:Leo Kottke

“It is not a mystical thing, however, it is obvious and practical and I think that what the performer does is to try to get to that point with every choice you make from the phrasing in a tune to the choice of tunes.”

Thinking Trying Doe Choices Obvious Practicals Tunes Performers Mystical Choices You Make

Author:Leo Kottke

“I think that open tunings are a trap really because it's really hard not to sound like an open tuning when your using one and that gets old as well as what you learn in one open tuning is going to stay there.”

Thinking Wells Hard Sound Traps Tuning

Author:Leo Kottke

“I am evidence that you don't have to sell a lot of records or succeed in the usual way to have a big audience and a job.”

Way Bigs Jobs Audience Records Succeed Evidence Sells Usual

Author:Leo Kottke

“I have always thought of myself as a performer first and way down the line as a recording artist.”

Way Firsts Artist Lines Performers

Author:Leo Kottke

“The first music I was exposed to was Stravinsky and I loved it but I don't remember it.”

Firsts Remember Exposed Stravinsky

Author:Leo Kottke

About the Author

Born: September 11, 1945
Known for: Guitarist
Quotes: 21

Books & Sources

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