I was able to work with the best musicians in Kansas City starting when I was really young
I just have never seen anyone build anything significant in any field without having a deep and detailed sense of what they are building on.
I'm a great songwriter, but I'm not the most talented musician.
Elvis Costello had a brand new bag. He was a musician, but he knew all about the attitude part of it.
A rock musician's career is short-lived. To extend it, you need to do other things to keep yourself fresh.
I don't listen to music, actually. Obviously I go to clubs; I stand in elevators; a lot of my friends are musicians; I hear music all the time. But I don't have my own collection of music.
Well there is a lot of work here for younger and older musicians now. Our Ministry of Culture has now really embarked on changing things for artists, and it is getting much better. We just have to organize ourselves as artists, and then things will be better.
There's Eddie's conviction and his lyrics and his ideals, and he can just rock straight out. His vocals are incredible. And we all are really competent musicians.
When I do the music, I make the musicians listen to what's happening in the film. That way they treat the dialogue as if it was a singer.
Human nature is not amenable to prediction based on the trends or tendencies prevailing at the time. It is amenable to startling creativity of the kind practiced by great artists, directors, writers, musicians, actors, who know how to touch a chord in humans everywhere.
The thing with me. I can't stick musicians. I've thought about this. I can't stand them, and being stuck in a studio with them I think that's my strength I can hear what they can't.
We [musicians] are comfortable in front of the camera doing music videos, and it's almost a form of acting when we're doing music videos. We're acting out our own thoughts and what we've written down on paper.
We talked a lot with the musician. And for now there are few options, and I give him few weeks to come and surprise me with something. I don't want to start and say, okay here is what I want. Because maybe he has an idea that is better than mine.
A lot of the musicians asked me if when I hit my high-Cs on the records I had a clarinet take the notes. Some [thought] I had invented some kind of gadget so I could play high register. They weren't satisfied until they handed me a trumpet that they had with them and had me swing it. Then they cheered.
Don't get me wrong, I've seen some very excellent women musicians.
You can never learn it all and I hope to continue my growth as a person and a musician
When I want 30 musicians in the orchestra, I get 30.
Back then, I was really into composing the entire solo, beginning to end. I wanted to have it at least 80 to 90 percent complete before going into the studio. I didn't improvise in the studio. I was young, and I didn't really have the development in my playing or the ability to show up with nothing and then put down 500 ideas. I can do that now because I'm so much more of a musician now.
Somebody might get criticized for doing some movie that totally sucks, then turn around and be incredible. Every actor goes through that, not just musicians who act.
Music and visual performance have to influence each other. Designers and musicians have to be the nexus of all things pop culture, so I think about designers when I'm making music.
And of course, the musician - if he's serious - always answers: My last album is my best, otherwise I wouldn't have done it.
So many people I was at school with have all ended up being musicians and putting records out.
I consider myself a serious musician. Doing a comedy show does not take away from that in any way.
And I'm always interested when other musicians are trying to discover new worlds of sound.
I am not what I would consider truly a musician. I am an inventor. I am an innovator.
