Musician Quotes - Page 21

• 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.

  Bill Bruford

  Writing, Player, Two

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• When I lived in Seattle and Oregon, we partied, which is a large reason I don't know drugs or alcohol now because I saw the Destruction of so many great musicians and artists.

  Meredith Brooks

  Artist, Oregon, Alcohol

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• Once you lose that musician part -not just the playing, I'm talking about musician attitude- then you're lost, man. Especially if you started out that way. It feels so good to be back, starting from the ground up.

  Bootsy Collins

  Attitude, Men, Talking

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• You are in a state of mixing, and you just live with it. There is not one musician who is completely happy with a mix.

  Gary Cherone

  Mixing, States, Just Live

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• There was a time when hip-hop was its own musical principle, aside from sampling. Like the entire Wild Style break is instrumental. Kurtis Blow's earliest stuff was studio musicians playing. Whodini had a real clear sound, things like "five minutes of funk," stuff that you could write really beautiful, lush string and horn arrangements around, stuff that was just music.

  Mos Def

  Beautiful, Real, Writing

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• I think right now is when we need to hear different voices coming out of all parts of the world. You can't just hear the politicians and the military leaders. You have to hear from the taxi drivers. You have to hear from the painters. You have to hear from the poets. You have to hear from the school teachers and the filmmakers and musicians.

  Michael Franti

  Teacher, Military, School

  "Reasoning With Michael Franti". Interview with Marlon Regis, jahworks.org. October 21.

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• Musicians coming together at a time of need is one of the great traditions in this country. It's like people taking charge.

  Mark O'Connor

  Country, People, Together

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• The biggest reward from that record was the enthusiasm everyone had to sing on it. The Grammy nominations and the chart positions are great, but ultimately the way you interact with other musicians is the most important thing to me.

  Chris Botti

  Important, Records, Enthusiasm

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• We always have a basic structure for a piece of music, but we encourage the musicians to elaborate on whatever they feel at that particular moment. There's a definite conversation happening on stage. I think it is very important for us as creative musicians, to instantaneously describe any energy that is visible at that time.

  Lisa Gerrard

  Thinking, Creative, Important

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• First of all I think that is true, if you are a musician, particularly on the comeback that you do have to end up in one of these musical centers somewhere to be viable, salable and so on.

  John Sebastian

  Thinking, Musical, Way

  Interview with Gary James, www.theharbinger.org. October 7, 1997.

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• My father was a classical musician and my mother was a writer.

  John Sebastian

  Mother, Father, Classical Music

  Interview with Gary James, www.theharbinger.org. October 7, 1997.

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• Being a musician, you want to be able to do the hardest stuff there is. People would think it's classical, but in classical, it's all on the page and the difficulty is keeping up with the music.

  Brian McKnight

  Thinking, People, Want

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• What I try to impart to a musician is to really try to practice the instrument in a really sincere way. Learn as much about music as you possibly can. Learn composition. Study to try to create compositions of your own and put your own personal touch on your music.

  Roscoe Mitchell

  Practice, Trying, Way

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• I went to high school right outside Dallas, and (songwriter and performer) Michael Martin Murphey was a senior there when I was a sophomore or junior, really into folk and acoustic music. Larry Gross, who's the host of "Mountain Stage" on public radio, and B.W. Stevenson, also a musician, were there at the same time, too. Michael was a big inspiration -- through him I discovered Woody Guthrie, Dylan, Jimmy Rogers. Then I ran into Jerry Jeff Walker there in Dallas back when he was just a folk singer. Those are my earliest influences.

  Ray Wylie Hubbard

  Senior, Inspiration, School

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• I started out as a folk singer, and kinda got sidetracked playin' honky tonks and such, but I was always a working musician. I didn't want to be Townes Van Zandt or Guy Clark, but I wanted to play in front of their audiences, you know what I mean?

  Ray Wylie Hubbard

  Mean, Play, Guy

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• Musicians understand each other through means other that speaking.

  Ry Cooder

  Mean

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• The second album was like being on a completely different planet compared to when we were making the first album. ... Even though it was the same musicians, the same artist, the same studio, the same producer, - it felt like a completely different piece of a puzzle.

  Katie Melua

  Artist, Different, Albums

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• I like the communication and trust that comes from a long-term relationship. When you really know people as musicians and as people, you feel you can really count on them. That frees you to take more chances and ... it takes the music to a higher level. It translates into a better product for audiences. There are two levels to these relationships. The first level is being with guys for the first few years, you're getting used to guys - he's got this to offer, he's got that to offer, I don't like this, I do like this. You both praise them and are critical as you get to know one another.

  Dave Liebman

  Communication, Years, Two

  "David Liebman: No categories, no compromises". Interview With Doug Fischer, ottawacitizen.com. April 18, 2008.

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• It was about finding creative, original musicians. Musicians who are strong composers. Flexible, empathetic musicians, who are great individually but who also have a great sense for cooperation and collaboration, great listeners as well as great players.

  Joshua Redman

  Strong, Player, Creative

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• I have seen so many bands and musicians fade away, especially the ones in my early days that treated me and my bands with contempt for no other reason than that they were headlining the show, not all though, with great exceptions such as Slade and Vinegar Joe.

  Bernie Marsden

  Vinegar, Band, Reason

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• There's times I've been quite nervous doing session work, such as when I'm asked to play the violin in a 'country and western' style or a 'gypsy' style. I'm not very good at that sort of playing at all. I think it's important as a session musician to have your own voice.

  Ric Sanders

  Country, Thinking, Play

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• I was an apprentice television engineer when I decided to pack it up and go full-time, much to my father's disgust. But I'm still interested and I like messing about with TV. I can't deny it ... TV engineering was the job I'd wanted at the time, and I got what I wanted. But in the long-term it would have been second best to being a musician.

  Peter Ham

  Jobs, Father, Engineering

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• I only say this because a lot of people seem to think that if you're a musician you want to be a celebrity. But most musicians in the world aren't celebrities, and pretty much everything about the concept of 'celebrity' is a complete load of bollocks anyhow.

  Brooke Fraser

  Thinking, People, World

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• 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.

  Colin Linden

  Eight, Years, Profound

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• That was an idea of the record company, and also that was my first album after MCA and we wanted to come back with a strong album that would be noticed. If we put the vocals by very talented people and very meaningful songs, then the vocals would be a platform so that I could be noticed again. All of the MCA albums were just loaded with problems -- you know, the right musicians, the engineers. The record company would say 'You have to make music for black radio, you can't do what you have been doing with The Crusaders.' Everybody was telling me that was over, finished, done.

  Joe Sample

  Meaningful, Song, Strong

  Interview with Pete Fogel, steelydanreader.com. October 1992.

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