“I started just concentrating on songwriting when I was abut 20; I'd been in rock bands six or seven years, kinda got that out of my system, I said, "ok, you ain't gonna be a rock star, you don't look like a rock star, it probably ain't gonna happen. So what you should do is write songs and maybe other people will do your songs."” PeopleShouldWritingYearsLooksSaidHappensSongStarsRocksBandSixSevenSongwritingSeven YearsRock StarConcentratingRock Bands Author:Billy Joel
“When you're working with the same band you kind of know their style inside out, and even when you've been working for seven years with the same people, suddenly they'll do something you didn't even think they were capable of.” PeopleThinkingKnowsYearsKindStyleBandCapableSevenSeven Years Author:Elvis Costello
“My father shared the ethos of many of the beat writers and was a friend of Allen Ginsberg. Probably for 25 years of my father's life, He had been an itinerant piano player and so traveled the road with bands and that sort of thing.” YearsFatherPlayerBandBeatsPianoTraveledEthosGinsberg Author:Anne Waldman
“My earliest influences would definitely be my father, just seeing him play in different bands and going to his shows and going to the rehearsals. You know what I'm saying, it was the typical story of a son looking up to his dad. So the years that my father was around, my father was my biggest influence.” KnowsYearsDifferentPlayStoriesShowsFatherSeeingInfluenceSonDadBandTypicalRehearsal Author:Jon Connor
“Writing a lyric is writing a lyric, whether it's sung or recited. Perhaps the question to ask should be, has playing in a band for three years affected you? The answer to that is you bet.” ShouldWritingYearsThreeAsksAnswersBandAffectedThree Years Author:Cornelius Eady
“If what you want to do is make artwork for bands, you have to love doing it because there is almost no money in it. In order to start doing it, you just have to put yourself out there, work for bands you love and for as little as possible to start, if not free, that's what I did for years.” IfsWantYearsLittlesOrderBandWhat You WantNo MoneyArtworkPutting Yourself Out There Author:John Dyer Baizley
“I originally wanted to be a singer, but I was average. I made 18 records, but none were that great. I was in a dance band at Bournemouth Pavilion for three years, and I played guitar too.” YearsMadeWantedThreeRecordsBandGuitarAverageSingersThree Years Author:Tony Blackburn
“I'm quite good at water skiing. Dave Clark, from the 1960s band Dave Clark Five, taught me how to water ski in Spain one year. I can do jumps too. I used to go to a club in Heathrow, but I don't do it any more, as it's given me a bad back. I was brought up in Poole, Dorset, so I've always loved watersports.” YearsI CanUsedGivenWaterCan DoFiveTaughtBandClubsSpain1960sSkisDaveSkiingWater Skiing Author:Tony Blackburn
“I always had this dream to make a solo record. I told my mom when I was 7 years old, but I just ended up being in bands. I'm a free spirit. I follow my heart, and it's led me to where I am.” YearsHeartDreamSpiritRecordsMomMy HeartBandMy MomSoloFree Spirit Author:Fergie
“I was in Hollis' band for eight years, playing drums. At one time we had Barry Beckett, Jimmy Johnson, David Hood - everybody but Roger Hawkins. We had a hell of a band.” YearsHellBandEightOne TimeJohnsonJimmyHoodRogerBeckettPlaying Drums Author:Donnie Fritts
“I lived in Italy for a number of years and I was really digging around trying to get my hands dirty, trying to learn about Italian music. And what I ended up gravitating towards was this stuff from the '50s and '60s and maybe early '70s, where there were these incredibly talented pop singers that weren't using pop bands.” TryingYearsHandsStuffNumbersBandPopsSingersDirtyItalianDiggingPop Bands Author:Mike Patton
“When that band started out, I was 18 years old. So that was my reality all the way up until I quit the band. And even then, you know, Guns N' Roses has a nasty way of sticking around.” KnowsWayYearsRealityBandGunRoseQuittingNastyI QuitGuns N Roses Author:Slash
“What does surprise me, though, is the amount of attention this band [Guns'n'Roses] has garnered 11 years after the original lineup broke up. That's an interesting phenomenon. It was even interesting back in the day. I mean, [we were] this glorified garage band. It was a great band, but it was not the kind of band you expected to become what it has.” YearsKindMeanDoeInterestingAttentionAmountBandGunOriginalsRoseSurpriseExpectedBrokePhenomenonGarageSurprise MeBroke UpBack In The DayGuns N Roses Author:Slash
“I think people probably lie about not reading their own reviews. I don't think that's true - I've been to a lot of music festivals and hung out backstage, especially in the past couple of years, and I see all these bands reading about themselves in newspapers. So I don't think that's true.” PeopleThinkingYearsPastLyingReadingCoupleBandNewspapersReviewsHungFestivalsMusic Festival Author:Lily Allen
“I think 'Elbow' were considered successful even before [2008's] Seldom Seen Kid because we were living off the band. We have a great manager who keeps our coffers topped off, and we give ourselves a sensible wage with a view to having three fallow years between records. We always make sure we have enough money to make a record and not be pressured time-wise.” ThinkingGivingYearsEnoughKidsThreeViewsSuccessfulRecordsWiseBandManagersGreat MenSensibleElbowsPressuredGreat Managers Author:Guy Garvey
“That's what you join a band for, is to make music. Not to sit around and have five years off. We're not getting any younger.” YearsFiveBandFive Years Author:Liam Gallagher
“With rock music, it usually revolves around the band. You go in as a band and probably take about a year to record an album. But for a hip-hop song, you can create a track and an idea with verses and choruses in a day, and get three different people on it. It seems like you're able to do more with hip-hop.” PeopleYearsIdeasDifferentSeemsAbleSongThreeRecordsRocksLike YouBandTrackHip HopAlbumsHipsHopsVersesDifferent PeoplesRock MusicChorusHip Hop Song Author:Travis Barker
“We really try not to spend too much time thinking about what we're supposed to be a punk band, or whatever. We do the exact same thing today that we been doing for years and years and years.” ThinkingTryingYearsTodayToo MuchBandSupposed To BePunk Author:Mark Hoppus
“I've been asked to write my autobiography and really they only want 8 years (1962-1970), and I keep saying it would be five volumes before I even got into the band!” WantWritingYearsWould BeFiveBandVolumeAutobiography Author:Ringo Starr
“I hated school . . . I freaking hated it. The fact is that it revolved around something you didn't have access to. If you weren't on the football team, if you were in the band, you were a leper. When people say those were the best years of our lives, I want to scream.” PeopleIfsWantYearsFactsSchoolOur LivesTeamFootballBandAccessHatedScreamFootball TeamBest YearLeper Author:Trent Reznor
“The only band that I can see that made changes over the years with success was The Beatles. They were able to change album to album and still be just as good or better. I didn't feel that we were able to do that. The Beatles were in a class by themselves.” FeelsYearsMadeStillsI CanAbleClassBandAlbums Author:Johnny Ramone
“High school and college were my punk, formative years. I was playing hardcore, learning to be a musician. In bands, you tour, but you're paid nothing; you're playing to 50 people in a basement, sleeping in a van, and you love it.” PeopleYearsSchoolSleepCollegeBandMusicianHigh SchoolPaidPunkVansBasementsHardcoreSleeping InFormative Years Author:Steve Aoki
“I came out here to do the acting, and then after a year of auditions and not getting anything, I met these Italian guys and they asked me to write lyrics for them. Then they said, "Why don't you just front the band?" I said, "Well, maybe because I can't sing. I've never sang before in my life."” WritingYearsWellsSaidI CanGuyActingFrontsMetsBandItalianAuditionsThey SaidBecause I Can Author:Malin Akerman
“These new metal bands are going out, getting drunk and going to strip clubs, and they'll be doing the same in thirty years. There isn't even an interesting self-destructive quality to it . . . it's just dumb.” YearsSelfInterestingQualityBandClubsDrunkDumbThirtyDestructiveMetalsGoing OutThirty YearsSelf DestructiveGetting DrunkMetal Band Author:Moby
“When I first started making music, for about the first 10 years, I was always the young kid. Everyone referred to me as such in any band.” YearsFirstsKidsYoungBand Author:Justin Broadrick
“Sony and Nickelodeon knew they wanted to create a TV show that was a platform for a band they would have for Sony. They knew what they wanted, and it took two years of auditions and screen tests and countless people coming in and out the door until they finally settled on the four of us.” PeopleYearsTwoShowsWantedFourDoorsTvsBandTestsScreensTwo YearsPlatformsTv ShowsAuditionsSonyNickelodeon Author:James Maslow
“I really like LIMP BIZKIT. I mean, I've said it for years - I don't know if anyone actually hears it - but I think LIMP BIZKIT are an awesome band. In terms of the rap-rock bands, or ANY bands out there, I think they really are truly among the best.” IfsThinkingKnowsYearsMeanSaidTermRocksBandRapRock BandsLimp Bizkit Author:Lars Ulrich
“It's been too many years since I've played live as myself as opposed to in a fake band for a film.” YearsFilmBandFake Author:Luke Treadaway
“I used to enjoy all the white bands when I was a kid listening to the radio. But the record companies, they take music and label it - like, they say "rock". Because the white singers can't sound like James Brown, they call him "soul". They've been doing that for years. That's the prejudice crap.” YearsSoulKidsUsedEnjoySoundWhiteCompanyRecordsRocksListeningBandPrejudiceRadioSingersLabelsBrownCrapRecord Companies Author:Miles Davis
“I got out of that immediately was that now, all of a sudden, rock music had become a spectator sport, that corporate labels and their bands were the new establishment, and punk was there to fight them the way the activist hippies must have fought what the establishment must have been ten years before. And it was interesting to see the reactions in different parts of the country.” WayYearsHas BeensDifferentCountryFightingSportsInterestingRocksBandTenReactionsLabelsCorporateActivistEstablishmentPunkSpectatorsHippieRock Music Author:Jello Biafra
“Looking back, I didn't realize until years later what a huge influence Red Skelton was in my stage demeanor with the band. I mean, I always liked things that were funny, and later I realized that having a sly sense of humor was a way to get attention and even respect in school.” WayYearsMeanSchoolRealizingAttentionInfluenceStageHugeBandRedI RealizedSense Of HumorLooking BackSlyDemeanor Author:Jello Biafra
“I was 15 years old when I was in this band; we were called Stag. We used to wear spandex pants and no underwear - we looked like marbles smugglers.” YearsUsedBandPantsMarbleUnderwearStagsSmugglersSpandex Author:Craig Ferguson
“You know why Foo Fighters have been a band for 20 years? Because I've never really told anybody what I think of them. The last thing you ever want to do is go to therapy with your band.” ThinkingKnowsWantYearsHas BeensLastsBandFighterTherapyFoo Fighters Author:Dave Grohl
“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
“When I see 16 year-olds waiting for me, I just want to spank them and give them guitars and tell them to start bands. It's a bummer that girls have to respond to rock artists sexually instead of, like, 'wow, me too!'.” WantGivingYearsArtistGirlWaitingRocksBandGuitarWowSexuallyThat GirlBummer Author:Courtney Love
“It seems to me that references to bands like Black Sabbath and Led Zeppelin meant more to me a year ago and all those old things are totally losing importance.” YearsSeemsBlackBandLosingYears AgoImportanceSabbathZeppelinsOld ThingsBlack Sabbath Author:Billy Corgan
“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 grammar school graduating class in 1941 had a little party for 13 or 14 year-old kids. [Trumpeter] King Kolax's band played for the party and Gene Ammons was playing tenor saxophone with the band. And that's when I said, "That's it!" Just like that, tunnelvision ever since.” YearsLittlesSaidKidsSchoolPartyClassKingsBandGraduatesGenesGrammarSaxophoneTenorsGrammar SchoolGraduating Class Author:Johnny Griffin
“Support is really important to me. It's quite a responsibility when people are paying for tickets. I've spent ten years playing for free, now it's like, bloody hell people are spending a tenner and I want it to be a great show and I really don't subscribe to having a crap support band.” PeopleWantYearsImportantShowsResponsibilitySupportHellBandTenSpendingBloodyTicketsCrap Author:KT Tunstall
“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
“Hatebreed is a fantastic band. They've been around for ten years and they're going really strong. But Hatebreed -- when you compare them to Agnostic Front, we're two completely different bands. There are a few similarities, but Hatebreed is a lot heavier.” YearsTwoDifferentStrongFrontsBandTenFantasticCompareAgnosticSimilarity Author:Roger Miret
“At least here in Stockholm if you go out to any of our 4 metal clubs and talk to ten guys you can be sure nine of them play in a band! The bad thing is there is no underground movement here anymore. Going to a show with local band's ten years ago would mean at least 300 people, now you can be lucky if 50 shows up!” PeopleIfsYearsMeanPlayShowsGuyMovementLuckyBandTenYears AgoClubsNineLocalsBad ThingsMetalsStockholm Author:Johan Hegg
“In Europe and Britain they seem to be much more accepting and embracing of older bands, whereas in America if you've been out for three years, you're old, and I think that attitude stinks.” IfsThinkingYearsSeemsAmericaThreeAttitudeAcceptingBandEuropeBritainThree YearsStink Author:John Bush
“I was working in a church in Florida as a youth intern, which means I really didn't do much other than staple stuff. I'm from Dallas, Texas, and every time my grandmother would call-she would call me any time of the day-I'd be home answering the phone. She was like, "What do you do all day?" and sarcastically I would say, "Well, I'm trying to chalk off the next year to spend time finding a band name." And she said, "Well mercy me, why don't you get a real job?" I thought, "Wait a minute. That's the perfect name." That kind of freed up my year but that's where the name came from.” TryingYearsWellsKindMeanSaidRealHomeJobsNextNamesStuffWaitingChurchPerfectMinutesYouthBandFindingsMercyPhonesGrandmotherCall MeTexasFloridaEnd TimesMy GrandmotherSpend TimeNext YearDallasStaplesReal JobsChalkDallas TexasAnswering The Phone Author:Bart Millard
“When your 18th, 19, 20 years old like we were at that time, its just like anyone else, you look at like Silverchair and bands like that that are super young and sound extremely derivative of bands that were out at that current moment. As they sounded like 'Nirvana in pajamas' as we called them, we sounded like Bon Jovi and Skid Row and Motley Crue, because we were only influenced by what was out at the time because we were so young” YearsLooksMomentsYoungSoundBandCurrentsDerivativesPajamasMotley CrueBon JoviSkid Row Author:Butch Walker
“For starters, I should just tell you that The Band was always my favorite band from the first moment that I heard the first note of "The Weight" on WNEW radio. It was when I was eight years old and Music From Big Pink came out. They were my favorite band always. They had a profound influence on me and on my becoming a musician.” ShouldYearsFirstsMomentsBigsHeardInfluenceBecomingBandMusicianWeightNotesProfoundMy FavoriteRadioEightStartersFavorite Bands Author:Colin Linden
“When Adam's House Cat broke up in 1991, which was Cooley and my band for six years, I put my entire life, heart, and soul into that thing. I mean everything. I ended up getting divorced over it, and then the band broke up and I was left with nothing. I had nothing to show for six years of my life except for a finished record that still hasn't come out. And I went through a pretty deep, dark, two-year depression after that, [which] probably resulted in some of the earlier songs that became Drive-By Trucker songs, for that matter.” YearsHeartMeanStillsTwoSoulMatterShowsSongHouseLeftDarkRecordsBandSixCatFinishedBrokeTwo YearsOver ItAdamDivorcedHeart And SoulBroke UpDeep DarkTruckers Author:Patterson Hood
“I started playing guitar at the age of 8 or 9 years. Very early, and I was like already into pop music and was just trying to copy what I heard on the radio. And at a very early age I started experimenting with old tape recorders from my parents. I was 11 or 12 at that time and then when I was like 14 or 15 I had a punk band. I made all the classic rock musician's evolutions and then in the early nineties I bought my first sampler and that is how I got into electronic music, because I was able to produce it on my own. That was quite a relief.” TryingYearsFirstsMadeAgeAbleParentMy OwnHeardRocksProduceEvolutionBandMusicianMusic IsGuitarRadioPopsClassicReliefCopiesPunkTapePop MusicRock MusicElectronic MusicRecordersPlaying GuitarClassic RockRock Musicians Author:Christian Fennesz
“Hanoi Rocks was our baby and we were the core and we started the band. All those years that went to waste because of that accident, it's only right that we have some kind of advantage because it's our history. The name 'Hanoi Rocks' I think is one of the very best names, if not the best name of all rock n' roll bands.” IfsThinkingYearsKindNamesRocksBabyBandWasteAdvantageAccidentsCoreRock N RollHanoi Author:Michael Monroe
“I believe that Fairport, in all its incarnations, has almost single-handedly been responsible for and has written the book on the history of the evolution of folk-rock in the UK. Over the years Ashley Hutchings, with his Albion Bands and Richard through his solo work have carried the torch to another level.” YearsBelieveBookI BelieveLevelsWrittenRocksEvolutionBandResponsibleFolksSoloIncarnationTorchesAshley Author:Iain Matthews