Quotes About Music

I think everything that played a part in my life growing up is in my music. Being homeless, living in shelters, dealing with over-aged, older men that hit on me... all that is in the music.

What you have to understand is that blues... it's in a line from the oldest forms of African music. If you're playing it like it's an echo of the past, it would be a lot less exciting, but this music lives today.

Every continent on Earth has a form of bullroarer - it's the oldest instrument known to man.

Basically, I try to let the song dictate what guitar I use. If it's a really loud, crazy song, I'll pull out the cheapest, oldest guitar I own, one that feeds back easily. But most of the time, I just use whatever's around.

I figure the oldies are real close to what rocking country use to be.

I hate it when bands do that; they're so proud of their new album, they have to play all of it and a couple of golden oldies.

I don't want to be an oldies act, kind of dragging around on the road just for the money.

I met all my heroes on the oldies circuit: Gary U.S. Bonds, Lloyd Price, Little Richard.

I am an oldies act - yes, I am - there's that part of me, but I am so much more than that.

When I was 6, 7 years old, I was raised on all the old-school stuff. My momma used to play oldies in the house. That's all my momma used to play around the house was oldies.

I really listened to a lot of oldies. I didn't really listen to anything that was modern until I was 11 or 12.

I listen to a lot of oldies stuff. Some Motown, Michael Jackson, jazz, etc.

I listened to King Oliver and I listened to Louis Armstrong, Jelly Roll Morton, Thelonious Monk, Charles Mingus, John Coltrane, Archie Shepp... I listened to everything I could that came from that place that they call the blues but, in formality, isn't necessarily the blues.

I like what Oliver Lakes does on the saxophone. The saxophone comes pretty close to the sound of the human voice and when Oliver plays with other sax players, it's like a dialogue.

I mean it's funny, playing music, how of course you want it to do well, you want them to like it, but it's not competitive like an election, it's the Olympics, it's not a Formula 1 race. The Billboard charts are just to show you what people like.

The riffs, lyrics, and drums of 'Open Your Omen' will tell you a lot.

The computer has always been this ominous, scary thing that came into music, for me, in the early '90s, right when I first started playing music.

My wife and I were in a band and worked together on and off since we were 19 or 20.

When you put everything you have into making music, both on and off the stage, it can be very frustrating when the music you work so hard to create is not allowed to see the light of day.

Once you know the background of an individual, you can connect better with his or her music.

I think music should be the basis of an education, not just something you do once a week.

I love singing; I just don't get to do it enough. The times that I do it, once a year, every year with 'Divas Simply Singing,' is a truly joy to me, but I'd love to do it some more.

When the family gets together once a year in Georgia for New Year's Eve, we listen to music, all kinds of music. That's what we do.

I think it's really, really good for me to be on stage once a year. It keeps your chops good. There's nothing else like it.