“At 13 years old, I realized I could start my own band. I could write my own song, I could record my own record. I could start my own label. I could release my own record. I could book my own shows. I could write and publish my own fanzine. I could silk-screen my own T-shirt. I could do this all myself.” WritingYearsBookShowsSongMy OwnRecordsBandScreensI RealizedReleaseLabelsShirtsT ShirtPublishSilk Author:Dave Grohl
“I tend to write pretty much by myself. I always did that anyway. I used to write with Ron Strykert 'cause he was the only guitarist and we played well together. We lived in the same place. I would play a certain style and he would kind of dance around what I did, in a sense. I learned from him and also vice-versa. With this band, I think I bounce ideas off everybody. Perhaps on the next album they'll be more collaborative stuff, but for the last 2-3 years, I've been pretty well writing by myself.” ThinkingWritingYearsWellsKindIdeasPlayTogetherLastsUsedCertainNextCausesStuffStyleBandAlbumsVicesVice VersaBounceGuitarist Author:Colin Hay
“My all time favorite band is Paramore and she's basically one of the reasons I was inspired... umm, well Hayley Williams from Paramore was one of the basic reasons I wanted to go rock. I saw the band live and they're great together and they write incredible music and also I like a lot of older bands. I like Motley Crue a lot and who else, I've got a lot of favorite bands but those are pretty much the main ones.” WritingWellsReasonWantedTogetherSawsRocksBandInspiredIncrediblesAll TimeFavorite BandsAll Time FavoriteMotley Crue Author:Demi Lovato
“I didn't write any music at all, and then, I remember Jon Anderson being very insistent saying that there were two kinds of musicians: the ones who wrote music and the ones who didn't. And clearly the ones who wrote music were more superior human beings in his mind. So he kind of nudged me and sort of prodded me into it. I picked it up slowly. Then I learned more about chords and harmony and I just kept adding to that. One of the great things about having good players in your band is that you just ask them questions. You can pick up some good information that way.” WayWritingMindHumansKindTwoRememberAsksHuman BeingsPlayerInformationBandMusicianPicksHarmonySuperiorsGreat ThingsChordsGood Information Author:Bill Bruford
“Another factor is that in terms of the original compositions, this is our strongest year yet. Everyone wrote a fantastic piece and everyone really had a greater sense of how to write for this band -- not only for this particular instrumentation, but for these particular players. Each year, the reality is getting closer to the ideal of a collective.” WritingYearsRealityTermGreaterPiecesPlayerParticularBandIdealsOriginalsFactorsFantasticCollectivesStrongestCompositionInstrumentation Author:Joshua Redman
“I would rather write songs and then practice with the band. Just the band camaraderie is awesome and then writing music and then just listening to it and saying 'Dude, we made that music!' That's really fun.” WritingMadeSongFunPracticeListeningBandJust ListenCamaraderieWriting Music Author:Sam McCandless
“I write everything. I have that control issue with my music. That's why I'm not in a band.” WritingIssuesBandControl Issues Author:Daniel Powter
“I don't really think of these as projects. I think of them as bands. I have tried to not just convene a group of musicians and make one record or make one gig and just drop it. Each of them develop over time. I have been really fortunate to keep a band like the Sextet together over three very different albums. Each time, the goal got more deep for me in terms of how I wanted to write for those people. So it is really about trying to develop ideas and trying to have a consistent focus on a way to come up with new ideas in music that I want to do.” PeopleThinkingWayWantWritingTryingHas BeensIdeasDifferentWantedTogetherThreeGoalTermRecordsFocusGroupsBandProjectsMusicianCome UpAlbumsFortunateConsistentNew IdeasGigs Author:Dave Douglas
“It's really an orchestral piece featuring a group and it was quite revolutionary at the time and it in fact, it kicked Deep Purple off as a name in Great Britain because it made all the newspapers. Everyone was writing about us. And there was some confusion as to what kind of band we were after that, which is why Deep Purple in Rock is such a hard unbending album of really furious hard heavy rock. Heavy metal hadn't been invented at that point.” WritingKindMadeHardFactsNamesPiecesGroupsRocksBandAlbumsHeavyNewspapersConfusionRevolutionaryBritainMetalsPurpleFuriousGreat BritainHeavy MetalDeep Purple Author:Roger Glover
“A lot of guys get slammed pretty hard. I do think there's a tendency with women performers to just sort of write them off. The "Flavor of the Month" kind of thing. Or as a novelty, because I do think women in bands are still considered a novelty, or a little confection.” ThinkingWritingKindLittlesStillsHardGuyMonthsBandTendenciesPerformersFlavorNoveltyFlavor Of The Month Author:Nina Gordon
“That's the way I came up, writing and recording at home. I developed by playing everything myself. I was a drummer first and that's my favorite instrument to play. Once I get the drums done, everything else comes real quick. Also, we track in my friends' garage, which is really small ... there's not really room to record live with a band.” WayWritingFirstsRealDonePlayHomeRoomsRecordsBandMy FriendsInstrumentsMy FavoriteTrackDrummerGarage Author:Pete Yorn
“The visual side of being a performer or in a band is, to me, as important as the music. I know not everyone shares that same opinion, but when I'm writing songs or working on lyrics or coming up with an idea, I think about videos as I'm in the studio. If I had all the money in the world, I would have the most amazing videos ever, you know? You're saying grandiose, and big; if the song warrants it, I try to push the visuals as far as I can.” IfsThinkingKnowsWorldWritingTryingI CanImportantIdeasBigsSongSidesOpinionShareBandStudiosVideoVisualsPerformersWriting SongsMost AmazingWarrantsGrandiose Author:Tamaryn
“I think it's stripped down as far as electronics go, but we just wanted to write a record that we felt better represented how we sound live with more of a rock feel, which is the direction we've been heading. It's just an evolution of the band throughout the years. We worked on this record longer than any other record, so I don't know if "stripped down" is how I would put it; I think it is a little bit more raw sounding.” IfsThinkingKnowsFeelsWritingYearsLittlesWantedFeltBitsSoundRecordsRocksEvolutionBandLittle BitHeadingsElectronics Author:Jason C. Miller
“There is no way that I could pinpoint just one person. When I first started, I was listening to Randy Rogers quite a bit, and I was also pretty big into Josh Grider back then. I remember going to a lot of Kevin Fowler shows early, and Eli Young Band was another one of the groups I listened to a lot of when I was learning to write and play guitar.” WayWritingFirstsPersonsPlayShowsBigsRememberYoungBitsGroupsListeningBandGuitarJust OneRogerKevinJoshRandy Author:Curtis Grimes
“My dad, who plays guitar and piano and was in cover bands, along with my older brother, Matt, taught me guitar and stuff. I started writing acoustic songs and playing by myself in 7th grade.” WritingPlaySongStuffTaughtBrotherDadBandGuitarMy DadPianoGradesAcousticsOlder Brother Author:Conor Oberst
“One of the nice things about being in a band is that you depend on each other for ideas, so it's not all up to me to do everything myself. There's always that fear that you'll run out of stuff. The most difficult part for me is writing lyrics, and that starts to get difficult after you've written, like, 120 songs.” WritingIdeasRunningSongStuffDifficultNiceWrittenDependsBandNice Things Author:Dean Wareham
“We do what we want to do. We write songs. We try not to repeat ourselves too much. We have our own sound and our own way of doing things. Up until now it has always been enjoyable. None of the members have ever got to the point where they don't want to be involved in it ... It's not entirely possible for me to stand back and look at the Rolling Stones because being a part of it you can't. I wish that I could just sit in the audience for one night and see the show. Everyone in the band has said that at some point. But then you wouldn't be seeing the whole band. And that's the problem with that.” WayWantWritingTryingLooksSaidWholeShowsProblemNightSongWishSoundAudienceToo MuchSeeingInvolvedBandMembersStonesRepeatsRollingEnjoyableOne NightRolling Stones Author:Keith Richards
“Ironically, when I was playing in my first band, I would deliberately not write down any lyrics. I have a really good memory and I would just keep them in my head.” WritingFirstsMemoriesBandGood Memories Author:Craig Finn
“The writing about what you know thing was a huge one. Not worrying so much about what people think. Just writing for myself and the band is enough.” PeopleThinkingKnowsWritingEnoughWorryHugeBandNot Worrying Author:Luke Temple
“I've always been in bands writing songs with friends in order to play shows or record a future record.” WritingPlayShowsSongOrderRecordsBandWriting Songs Author:Frank Iero
“I do like writing songs in a band. When it's rock, it's such a different kind of dynamic, obviously.” WritingKindDifferentSongRocksBandDifferent KindsWriting Songs Author:Colin Hay
“I like garage band for writing because you only have crayons and there are only five crayons in the box. Your choices are limited and I find that to be very good for me.” WritingChoicesFiveBandVery GoodBoxesGarageCrayon Author:Erin McKeown
“It was always very important for us that we presented ourselves as a band, because it's a three-part writing process and it's a three-part decision making process, it's not two producer guys and a girl that sings the songs. It's startling how many people make that assumption.” PeopleWritingTwoImportantGuySongGirlThreeProcessDecisionBandProducersAssumptionDecision MakingWriting ProcessDecision Making Process Author:Lauren Mayberry
“Write your own music and write frequently. Go to as many live shows as you can as well (of bands you enjoy of course). You can learn a lot watching other performers.” WritingWellsShowsCoursesEnjoyBandPerformersWrite Your Own Author:Dia Frampton
“We are probably the most frustrating band to soundcheck because we always go off on jams and our sound-man is sitting there going: "oh god, I don't want to interrupt this, but... we've got to get things moving along..." We're just easily distracted because we want to be writing all the time!” MenWantWritingMovingSoundBandSittingFrustratingDistractedJam Author:Theresa Wayman
“I was the drummer in a band called Hemsworth for a brief stint, too - it was not very great. I didn't even write the songs, but the band was named after me.” WritingSongBandDrummer Author:Ryan Hemsworth
“I don't know if it was related to the type of music that we were doing at that time or what, but Todd Cook actually just turned to me and was like, "You know what would be a great name for a metal band? Dead Child." We talked half-jokingly that we were going to do a band. I guess as time went on, I started writing songs that were more metal sounding, and it just evolved from there. It actually started with the name first, and then the songs came second.” IfsKnowsWritingFirstsChildrenWould BeSongNamesHalfLike YouTypeBandCooksRelatedMetalsWriting SongsMetal Band Author:David Pajo
“The last thing you want to do is write songs about being in a band.” WantWritingLastsSongBand Author:Matt Berninger
“I was going through a period where I was just trying not to write songs and was thinking maybe I wouldn't play in a band and make records anymore.” ThinkingWritingTryingPlaySongRecordsPeriodsBand Author:Tim Rutili
“It just seemed like there were loads of bands in England writing about walking down the street and falling in love.” WritingFallStreetsWalkingBandEnglandFalling In LoveLoad Author:Simon Taylor-Davis
“My brother is the lifelong musician, he made the choice to do that when we were very, very young kids. I remember him playing in bands and listening to the music he was writing in the house - he's nine years older than me.” WritingYearsMadeKidsRememberYoungChoicesHouseBrotherListeningBandMusicianNineMy BrotherLifelongNine Years Author:Kevin Bacon
“The music industry is not what it used to be. Being in a good band is great, and I've been lucky to be in great bands. I've done solo stuff, and that's been great. I also produce rock bands and I do co-writes, where I write with different singers in bands and songwriters.” WritingDifferentDoneUsedStuffRocksProduceIndustryLuckyBandSingersUsed To BeSongwritersSoloMusic IndustryRock BandsGood Bands Author:James Iha
“We're not the kind of band who writes an order abundance of songs and picks from them, we usually write for the album.” WritingKindSongOrderBandPicksAlbumsAbundance Author:John Petrucci
“I think the Internet really sussed things into perspective. Because twelve years ago, I could spend my days on writing and running my band and touring and making posters and practicing with my band and working on my vocals, but I didn't spend a large pie chart of my time sifting through criticism as well, and nowadays I do, and all female artists do, because to be able to promote your work, you need to live in those spaces.” ThinkingNeedsWritingYearsWellsRunningAbleArtistSpacePerspectiveInternetBandFemaleYears AgoCriticismMy TimeTwelvePieVocalTouringPostersSiftingFemale Artists Author:Amanda Palmer
“We know what we are doing by now.We seem to make an album every 18 months or so and I think every band should do that. We're not writing "Sgt. Pepper" every time; we are writing straight ahead rock n' roll.” ThinkingKnowsShouldWritingSeemsRocksMonthsBandAlbumsRock N RollPeppersSgt Pepper Author:Lemmy Kilmister
“They [The Beatles ] were the first band to write their own songs in Britain because we always just covered American songs before that.” WritingFirstsSongBandBritainCovered Author:Lemmy Kilmister
“In high school I was in a band called Goodfight, but it was more me running around on stage. It was very punk inspired. Then I started to get into indie-rock and older music and decided I wanted to write my own stuff. I quit the band. Around 16 or 17, I started recording myself at home on keyboard and piano.” WritingHomeRunningWantedSchoolStuffMy OwnRocksStageBandHigh SchoolDecidedInspiredQuittingPianoPunkKeyboardsI QuitIndie Rock Author:Angel Olsen
“Some bands write and it is just the singer and the guitarist that do it all and then the rest of the band follows their vision. This is cool, and as you know I have been part of a few amazing bands that did this and I am not complaining.” KnowsWritingHas BeensVisionBandComplainingSingersGuitarist Author:Marco Mendoza
“So many bands write about the same s - . It gets real boring after a while.” WritingRealBandBoringGet Real Author:Mitch Lucker
“The act of the being in the band has very little in common with writing songs. The songs come out of it, and the band is necessary for the songs to emerge, but the band doesn't exist just so the songs can emerge.” WritingLittlesSongCommonBandWriting Songs Author:Tim Kinsella
“A few Disney TV composers had me pinch-hit writing some scoring cues to picture. Disney tapped me to be the composer for the underscore and song producer for this new show called "Phineas and Ferb."There is nothing like a successful animated show to get your chops up. You have to do every style - action, adventure, romantic, suspense, spy, poignant, rock, funk, big band - delivered on a deadline.” WritingShowsBigsActionSongSuccessfulRocksStyleAdventureTvsBandProducersSuspenseComposerSpyAnimatedDeadlinePoignantFunk Author:Danny Jacob
“I was sixteen, I became a working guitar player gigging in LA, mostly in top 40 bands, then touring. I learned to take songs apart, down to their bones. Songwriters would hire me to produce their demos, which lead me to become a songwriter. The relationship and power music has to TV and film attracted me to composing [and] I learned to write for instruments other than guitar.” WritingFilmSongPlayerProduceTvsBandInstrumentsGuitarBonesSongwritersTouringSixteenComposingGuitar PlayerLeading MeDemos Author:Danny Jacob