Quotes from Trombone Shorty

When I'm creating a song, I'm thinking of a hip-hop beat playing on a live drum set - kinda like the Roots would do. I will put New Orleans music on top of that with some other rhythms.

I just want to spearhead and lead a new style of New Orleans music.

Since I'm born here, my music will always have some New Orleans elements.

That's the way New Orleans is. It's driven by the music.

In New Orleans, we celebrate everything. It's probably the only place you'll see people dancing in a funeral home.

If I have to be considered any type of jazz artist, it would be New Orleans jazz because New Orleans jazz never forgot that jazz is dance music and jazz is fun. I'm more influenced by that style of jazz than anything else.

In New Orleans, we like to interact with the crowd. We don't like people sitting down.

New Orleans is like my blood; it's not going anywhere. And then I just take different things that I've learned over the years and add them to what I'm doing with the natural New Orleans sound.

I need New Orleans. And New Orleans needs me.

New Orleans made me who I am.

The only thing we try and do is just be a part of the gumbo that New Orleans is.

At the end of the day, I'm a New Orleans musician. Whatever that means.

We have to let the younger generations take our music - and approach it the way they want - but just teach them where it all comes from.

Everyone who hears our music loves it, but how many people get to hear it?

I spent a lot of time with the Neville Brothers and Dr. John and different people. They play different styles of music, and it allowed me to learn different styles.

People seem to absorb my sound. It feels like they're one with me.

That always has been one of my dreams, to be able to appeal to a bunch of people.

It was just music all day... My neighbors were musicians, and my brother and my family and everybody... It was just a musical neighborhood. I think the neighborhood was such a good family type of vibe for me that I didn't even realize some of the people weren't my real family till later on in life.

We really practice music and work really hard. Sometimes we'll leave at six in the morning, and we started at three the day before.

Australia is one of my favorite places to play - it's a crazy experience.

It's like drinking water. You have to have water every day, and music is like water for me.

I've been playing music since I was four, so it's part of my life. It's all I know. It's just a part of my everyday living.

Everything is a learning experience for me.