Quotes About Artistry

I've been a fan of old country music, like Willie Nelson, Patsy Cline. I think I'm drawn to it because of the sense of sadness and sort of loss that a lot of good old country music has.

Steve Earle had a mainstream career. Dwight Yoakam had a mainstream career. Willie Nelson did. But they always made good music, they always stuck to who they were. They weren't relying on radio like a lot of people are in Nashville.

I love being able to work with other artists I admire, but I have a lot to do on my own before I am willing to make it all about embracing other people.

Acting came easy to me, I think. There's something about it that's a lot easier for me in the sense that you're playing someone else. In music, you're giving somebody 'you.' Being able to do that and being willing to share that is an entirely different thing.

If you're willing to put two thoughts into a picture then you're already ahead of the game.

Part of being an artist is being willing to be shocked, being willing to be surprised, being willing to be hurt.

In playing, I suppose my greatest gift was to express the way I felt or the willingness to express myself.

Kill Rock Stars has a willingness to really work with the artist and to be flexible with what they're doing... part of being an independent artists means having your hands in the business all the time, so they bring in a lot of ideas about it.

My dad made a film called 'Willow' when he was a young filmmaker, which screened at the Cannes film festival, and people were booing afterwards.

I'm from the Bob Wills and the Little Richard school of music. Bob Wills did what the hell he thought, Little Richard did what he thought, and those were my big influences.

When I started playing, I played in R&B bands. I played James Brown, Wilson Pickett, Otis Redding and all that.

Having Brian Wilson sing on my album was an unforgettable experience.

Teddy Wilson, I think, said a little while ago that it's much easier to come in and play whatever comes into your mind, without obeying any of the laws of bass line and harmony and so on.

Ann Wilson has an amazing voice and is a brilliant songwriter.

The way I write my songs is that I have to believe what I'm writing about, and that's why they always end up being so personal - because the kind of artists I like, they convince me, they totally win me over straight away in that thing. Like, 'Oh my God, this song is totally about me.'

Acting is like a sporting match; a tennis game, but no one should win or lose. The game's the thing!

I started EWF because I had a vision, and music was playing in my head that I wanted to bring through. What I had in mind was exactly what Earth, Wind & Fire became.

I know I'm not the kind of person who's gonna wind up a walking jukebox, like many rock 'n' roll artists. They just play their hits and that's it. That doesn't appeal to me.

Back in the days, the groups and the bands that we listened to were like Earth, Wind and Fire, Santana and Grateful Dead. We don't have a lot of those bands anymore.

I learned how to play mandolin for 'A Mighty Wind!'

Earth, Wind & Fire was something new. I wanted to bring something innovative to the music. It was out of a desire to create excitement with music that was pleasurable to play and listen to.

Singing is all about certain inflection on certain lines. I used to listen to tapes of everybody from Michael Jackson and Prince to Earth, Wind and Fire. They would have different vocal inflections. If the line insinuated pain, they would cringe on some lines.

You know, when you're making a record, you come up with 15, 20 songs. Then they start to fall by the wayside as your interest wanes. It's kind of like a process of elimination to determine which songs wind up on the record.

Whoever hired me might've just heard 'Refugee.' Well, I'm not the secret to 'Refugee.' The secret to 'Refugee' is the song. But if somebody really good calls me up to play on something because they like the way I played on 'Refugee,' then I wind up playing on another really good song.