“I guess a certain contingent of the musicians in London at the beginning of the '70s were fed up with denim and the hippies. And I think we kind of wanted to go somewhere else.” ThinkingKindWantedCertainMusicianLondonFedsSomewhere ElseHippieFed UpDenim Author:David Bowie
“Those who have expressed doubts and misgivings about their ability to live this kind of life shouldn't try, because being a musician is not something you chose to be, it is something you are.” TryingKindAbilityDoubtMusicianMisgivings Author:Billy Joel
“It's a scary question for a musician or songwriter today - what does the future hold? It is a strange time in the music business too; it feels like we are all in some kind of transitional period, stuck between old technology and new.” FeelsKindDoeTodayTechnologyStrangePeriodsMusicianScaryStuckSongwritersMusic BusinessOld TechnologyStrange Times Author:Dean Wareham
“Frank [Zappa] always wanted to do a sound library - he sampled so many great musicians. For piano, for example, he sampled every octave, not just one (that you could just transpose electronically), and he did all different types of attack, with and without pedals, all that kind of stuff.” KindDifferentWantedStuffSoundExampleTypeMusicianLibraryPianoJust OneFrankGreat MusicPedalsGreat MusicianZappa Author:Gail Zappa
“Most of the musicians that I'm playing with now have jazz backgrounds, so they're comfortable with improvisation. And they all know to make eye contact with me, and I'll give them some kind of sign when I think that the song's ending. Or maybe I don't even have to, because they all sort of feel it at the same time.” ThinkingKnowsGivingFeelsKindEyeSongComfortableMusicianJazzBackgroundsContactImprovisationEye Contact Author:Larkin Grimm
“In a personal way, to do with family and the father-son relationship, in a kind of artistic way with regard to him being an art student. I also studied the visual arts at Lancaster University. I then decided to become an actor as he was becoming a musician. And then as an actor/performer, we have similar sort of interests - music hall and that whole world. So, there's a lot that I felt connected with.” WorldWayKindArtWholeActorsFatherFeltInterestStudentsSonBecomingMusicianDecidedRegardUniversityConnectedWhole WorldArtisticVisualsHallsPerformersFather SonVisual ArtArt StudentsLancasterFather Son RelationshipMusic Hall Author:Andy Serkis
“We're doing all the shows as an eight-piece band. There's so many different kinds of palettes for each film that we've had to find a balance of musicians who can shift from one instrument to another to make all those sounds for us come to life.” KindDifferentShowsFilmSoundPiecesBalanceBandMusicianInstrumentsEightDifferent KindsPalette Author:Stuart A. Staples
“I've heard of people stopping their cars, having car wrecks, all kinds of things. But most of the banjo players I know had that moment when they heard Earl Scruggs. So, for me, it transcends the technique. It's the musician in him and his personality, his musical personality, such great taste, such great technique, very, very creative.” PeopleKnowsKindMomentsCreativePlayerHeardCarPersonalityTasteMusicianMusicalTechniqueAll KindsThat MomentStoppingWrecksBanjosCar WreckBanjo Players Author:Earl Scruggs
“I suppose musicians have the kind of arrogant attitude that they can actually offer the world something, because through their passive power, they're able to be the strongest arms that they can be, incredibly strong. That's what keeps us going.” WorldKindAbleStrongAttitudeArmsOffersMusicianStrongestArrogantPassive Author:Lisa Gerrard
“I've got this thing where I always kind of diss the older stuff and favor the newer stuff. I mean, it's not just my thing; every artist or musician is like that, I guess.” KindMeanArtistStuffMusicianFavors Author:Bradford Cox
“I just like dealing with scientists for awhile and then going over and dealing with musicians for awhile. They both have qualities that kind of counterbalance each other.” KindQualityMusicianScientist Author:Jonathan Meiburg
“When you say what is the difference between me and my stage name the idea is that as a musician you always think of yourself as inhabiting a certain cultural space in the kind of a cultural landscape, so when I say cultural space what I mean to imply there is that you exist within certain parameters of how people think of culture.” PeopleThinkingKindMeanIdeasCertainCultureNamesDifferencesSpaceStageMusicianLandscapeThink Of YouParameters Author:DJ Spooky
“A lot of the people that I photograph are master musicians themselves, whether they're singers or great jazz players and it's kind of fun to figure out who they came up with and who they emulated or who they idolized actually.” PeopleKindFunPlayerFiguresMastersMusicianJazzPhotographSingersIdolized Author:Carol Friedman
“I was at a time of my life of making choices, I suppose: am I a writer, am I a visual artist? And when I was a teenager. I thought I would be a film-maker. Am I a musician? If so, what kind of musician am I?” IfsKindWould BeFilmArtistChoicesMusicianTeenagerVisualsMakersVisual ArtMaking ChoicesTime Of My LifeVisual Artist Author:David Toop
“The kind of music or the kind of arrangements that I do, the kind of musicians I choose, is just what I like to hear.” KindMusicianArrangements Author:Erykah Badu
“The cliché of that sort of wasted, renegade, drugged-out musician of the '70s is kind of dead and gone now. And I suppose that a lot of people still keep relying on that, or some kind of image to perpetuate something that they think they're supposed to sound like. But that kind of takes you away from real inspiration and, you know, real artistic discovery of the individual.” PeopleThinkingKnowsKindStillsRealInspirationIndividualSoundGoneMusicianDiscoveryArtisticRenegades Author:Chrissie Hynde
“I read an interview with a Japanese freestyle jazz musician once, and he said something like, "Everything I'm going to tell you is not going to be true." He's not saying, "I'm trying to lie to you." But he's kind of saying that you can never say what something really is.” TryingKindSaidLyingMusicianJazzBeing TrueInterviewsJazz MusicJazz MusicianFreestyle Author:Paul Beatty
“As for uniqueness, this is virtually nonexistent! And it's a shame that people think they're unique because they have a face ring, retro clothing, colorful hair, drive a certain kind of automobile or listen to some obscure musician.” PeopleThinkingKindFacesCertainHairMusicianUniqueShameRingsClothingsUniquenessObscureAutomobileColorfulRetro Author:Gary Yourofsky
“It's amazing to hear proficient musicians play your music. It's a once in a lifetime kind of experience.” KindMusicianLifetime Author:Jonathan Rado
“There's something I have about being Canadian - there's a distance it gives you when you live in the States and operate in American culture. You approach familiar things a different way; you come at it from a different angle. It's a trait that runs through a lot Canadian artists' work and actors' work and musicians' - that kind of special remove.” WayGivingKindDifferentStatesRunningArtistCultureActorsSpecialApproachMusicianDistanceFamiliarDifferent WaysRemoveTraitsAngleAmerican CultureDifferent AnglesFamiliar Things Author:Michael J. Fox
“A lot of musicians have said things to me like, "Music saved my life". And "I'm standing on the shoulders of dozens of people that you've never heard of that were like angels for me that came out of the woodwork." And that's really the case for me. I had so many people that did those kinds of things for me.” PeopleKindSaidCasesHeardMusicianAngelStandingSavedShouldersDozen Author:Jon Gordon
“I was able to go over [Saxophone Competition] and work a little more in Europe. I'm thankful that those of kinds of things. Simultaneously, some nice things did come in. I got a nice festival that came in, in Virginia through that. There was a club that opened in DC in the famous Willard Hotel near the White House. And the club was called The Nest. I played there a few nights. Some musicians in Philly and D.C. kind of brought me down and got me on a couple things. So things opened up a little bit.” KindLittlesAbleNightHouseBitsWhiteNiceCoupleLittle BitMusicianEuropeDown AndCompetitionClubsHotelWhite HouseFestivalsNestsVirginiaNice ThingsSaxophoneSome NiceCouple Things Author:Jon Gordon
“Listening closely to songs these days, there's a lot of lazy songwriting where people get away with it. I don't want to be too critical about it. But I also feel like I wanted to say something a bit different from just being a musician and singing about yourself. Ultimately, that's not really interesting to me. Even when I was a kid, I was interested in observing people and maybe making my own stories. That kind of reflects in my music.” PeopleKindDifferentKidsSongInterestingListeningMusicianSingingLazyGet AwaySongwritingAbout YourselfObservingReally Interesting Author:Steve Gunn
“I came to writing kind of late. I was an engineer, and the one thing I've learned is that you have to steer a project in the direction of the maximum fun for you. You could say lively energy, or you have to try to be intrigued. Basically, if you were a musician and you were playing joylessly, nobody would want to hear you.” WritingTryingKindEnergyFunMusicianLivelyIntrigued Author:George Saunders
“If a song is cooking in the studio, that's great, but if I can imagine doing it on stage, that's the next level to me. ... Some people love paintings, and some people love poetry, and of course I love all of that, but when a musician is so in control of her instrument, I'm in awe. That's when I start to kind of evaporate into the universe.” PeopleKindSongUniverseImaginePaintingMusicianCookingAweLove Poetry Author:Chrysta Bell
“England never felt claustrophobic for me at all. I think it would feel more difficult for me if I lived in mainland Europe. America I think is really easy because Los Angeles has film stars everywhere and musicians and Santa Barbara a lot of people have homes there even if they don't live there. You are kind of inconsequential, no one cares.” PeopleThinkingKindHomeCareFilmEasyDifficultMusicianLos AngelesInconsequentialNo One Cares Author:Martin Gore
“I've always thought that I'm not really a guitar player, but I just practised so much that I developed into a kind of a bit of a musician, but I've often doubted my musical ear. If someone sings me a melody, I have to improvise on that melody, because I can't retain the information they've given me. That's why I still practise today, I suppose, because I still feel inadequate.” KindTodayPlayerMusicianMusicalMelodyInadequateDoubtedGuitar Player Author:Ritchie Blackmore
“Around 2010, I kind of looked up and said, I'm 40 years old. You know, I chose music. I don't have a husband. I don't have any kids. Like, I chose music. So, I had to make a decision. Like, do I want to do something else, or do I want to go from journeyman to master? And I realized, I want to be a really good musician.” KindKidsDecisionHusbandMusicianI Realized Author:Neko Case
“I just like so many different kinds of music that I like experimenting. I don't want to keep making the same record over and over and over. I'm an 'evolve or die' kind of a musician. I think it's cool to try new things.” ThinkingTryingKindDifferentMusicianDifferent Kinds Author:Alan Cooper
“Poetry can explain individuals to ourselves, and change our attitudes, and help us see the complexity of the world, but the kind of poetry I follow isn't going to change public opinion directly. Other art forms can - if you're a TV writer, you have some interesting challenges, or if you're a country musician, somebody like Brad Paisley. But poetry not so much.” WorldKindArtCountryHelpingIndividualChallengesInterestingAttitudeOpinionMusicianComplexitySome Interesting Author:Stephen Burt
“I want to be just a musician and songwriter, and hopefully known as a very good one. I love a lot of music that's considered folk music, but I also love a lot of music that's considered punk or considered rap. I don't mind being called a folk singer. But it seems a bit limiting. I want to be able to write whatever kind of song I want.” WritingMindKindSongMusicianVery GoodRapHopefullyPunkFolk Music Author:Langhorne Slim
“I'm still on my demos. I'm still making my mind up and deciding what kind of artistic production to come in. I do things at home with my musicians but I would like an artistic producer to come in and work on them.” MindKindHomeMusicianProducersArtistic Author:Violante Placido
“One way of working is just bring a group of totally different musicians together and encourage them to stick to their guns, not to do the thing that normally happens in a working situation where everyone homogenizes and concedes certain points - so eventually they're all playing in roughly the same style. I wanted quite the opposite of that. I wanted them to accent their styles, so that they pulled away. So there would be a kind of space in the middle where I could operate, and attempt to make these things coalesce in some way. In fact quite a lot of my stuff has arisen from that.” KindDifferentTogetherSituationStyleMusicianGun Author:Brian Eno
“My dream right now is - and I don't know how to do it, and I don't know if it will work exactly - but just this sort of vague aspiration to start some kind of website where people send in their stories or poems, and me or perhaps some other people turn that into music. And then by the end of the year we make a record and actually put it out. Like a band, but the band is actually a combination of the musician and the fan. I think that's a very 21st-century way of doing it.” PeopleThinkingKindDreamMusicianAspirationWebsite Author:Eef Barzelay
“I can't get very excited about a musician who can do Art Tatum because I've got the Art Tatum records. I want to hear him take that and do something that hasn't been done. And there's enough of that going around that keeps the music very exciting. There's so many great young players coming out. I think we're in some kind of renaissance, especially in the rhythm section. I mean the musicians on drums and bass and guitar are really trying to figure out different ways to bring a rhythm section together.” ThinkingTryingKindMeanArtDifferentDoneEnoughTogetherPlayerMusicianExcitingExcitedRhythm Author:Gary Giddins
“My only advice as an experience older singer is about singing, it isn't about music. To have a career in music is a completely different question and leads to other kinds of advice and other kind of experts. All you can do is someone planted in my mind very early on, this wonderful truism called, "Fortune favors the prepared mind." Be passionate about being a musician. There is no limit to how hard you must work and how detailed you must be in every facet of what you do, either as a singer, as a musician, or as a person.” MindKindDifferentWonderfulAdviceMusicianMusic IsSingingPassionateTruism Author:Thomas Hampson
“I think there are basically two kinds of musicians: some are extroverted and some are introverted. I think extroverted musicians are more in the entertainer kind of camp, which is just as valid, but you're going to be more apt to make music that is of the moment - whereas if you're coming from a more introverted place, the music is going to end up being more about the past or more personal. It's not going to be about the people in the room, per se.” PeopleThinkingKindMomentsPastMusicianMusic IsIntroverted Author:Memory Tapes
“I've done a bunch of collaborations where it goes well and you finish it, but then you're kind of like, "I just don't like it." And it sits there. It can be awkward, but a real musician understands that you're not always going to make what you want it to be. You can't just polish everything into perfection.” KindRealDoneMusicianPerfectionCollaborationAwkward Author:Nick Murphy
“I never really liked the lyrics or the sameness of the music. It always seemed to have the same rhythm or whatever. But when it turned a little more rock, I kind of liked it. I like what Kid Rock did to country. I like all the modern, new stuff that's coming out, and it just so happens that my boyfriend is not a country player, but he was a rock musician.” KindCountryKidsPlayerModernMusicianRhythmRock MusicMy BoyfriendSameness Author:P. J. Soles
“Everybody always wants to meet musicians. You can go to any random bar around the world and be like, "I'm a musician," and they'll have something to say to you. It's kind of this weird passport where you can go around and as soon as you say you're a musician, you're welcome.” WorldKindMusicianWelcome Author:Patrick Watson
“When I start to write and record a track, I always think about where it is supposed to take place, what kind of room that is, and what kind of atmosphere it should have. Also how it should be performed, and by what kind of musicians or vocalists. I work in a very theatrically minded sort of way.” ThinkingWritingKindMusicianTrackAtmosphere Author:Karin Dreijer Andersson
“I thought "I don't need to reach out to my fans, I don't need to have that dialogue with them." But as a musician, you have to constantly - especially since my music is not on the same level as my acting - you have to connect with your fans. I actually feel like I have developed friendships through Twitter, people that I've worked with I can kind of keep up with them. I've totally turned a corner. I get it. And Instagram.” PeopleKindActingMusicianMusic IsDialogueReach Out Author:Bryan Greenberg
“I find myself being quite cynical - and I think we all kind of are - towards the idea that it's associated with being a musician; you know... the kind of rock-star attitude. So, I hope that people know it's a joke.” PeopleThinkingKindAttitudeMusicianJokesAll KindsCynical Author:Thomas Powers
“People don't get that being a musician is a job, they don't get what the work takes. And that's just because you're living a dream, so everyone who's observing it from the outside can't really empathize with how much work it is because you're fortunate. And it's a kind of competition with yourself to stay away from all of the excess, whether it's booze or drugs or just the late nights with the addiction to watching the sun rise in some weird part of the world. But when you meet the other musicians, there's generally a spiritual exhaustion that you connect with.” PeopleWorldKindDreamSpiritualNightDrugMusicianCompetitionAddictionObservingExhaustionLate NightSun Rise Author:Kevin Drew
“I never wanted to get a job of musician. That was kind of my thing. I came from somewhat of a musical family. I had an uncle on Broadway. My dad kind of knows how to play instruments. Although, I always find it annoying when he does play an instrument.” KindDadMusicianMusicalMy DadAnnoying Author:Nate Ruess
“If I was not a film-maker I'd probably be a musician. I like Kanye West, Jay-Z, R&B, classical, jazz and all kinds of music, but I'd say soulful World Music is my favorite.” WorldKindMusicianMusic IsJazzMy FavoriteAll KindsSoulful Author:Kasi Lemmons
“Everybody has their own approach to songwriting. When you're an electronic musician, the whole writing process just depends. Some people have a very live way of writing electronic music, very improvisational. They set up a lot of gear and do live takes. I'm concerned with having a specific kind of sound. There's not one second that I haven't put thought into. I put almost as much time into my live shows as I do into writing music, but they're two completely different processes. Some people think the way I perform live is how I write songs, which isn't true at all.” PeopleThinkingWritingKindDifferentSongMusicianConcernedSongwritingWriting ProcessElectronic Music Author:Travis Stewart
“By that point, I was about 12, 13 years old. I was this young black kid into rock music, which was kind of strange. People would always assume I'd be into like more modern R&B, which is a stereotype, but that was kind of what was expected. And I had all these guitar magazines of all these musicians that didn't look like me. So I assumed Jimmi Hendrix was one of those.” PeopleKindKidsBlackModernStrangeMusicianAssumingStereotypeRock MusicHendrix Author:Michael Kiwanuka
“Artists have been used over and over again since the early 1980s as the legitimizers of a neighborhood in New York. And entrepreneurial artists, meaning people who themselves start out as painters, musicians, dancers, and who open a café, a bar, a restaurant, or even a co-op art gallery - they unintentionally develop the kinds of attractions that bring the middle class with some kind of cultural ambition.” PeopleKindArtArtistAmbitionMusicianAttractionPainterDancerMiddle ClassNeighborhoodEntrepreneurial Author:Sharon Zukin
“You're always as a musician trying to shock yourself or create music that's maybe even too weird for your own taste. In my case it's kind of weird because I started out being known more for ambient things and ambiguous music, but what's experimental for me is the more traditional structure. For me, experimenting involves traditionalism.” TryingKindMusicianAmbiguous Author:Bradford Cox