Gretchen Parlato Quotes

My whole goal is to be honest and sincere with the music I'm making.

As a composer, I'm basically trying to represent myself through my music in an honest way.

There's the dual challenge of wanting to speak from an authentic place, and then being able to be honest about it. Even in the most mannered art, I think that's what people value, is a voice that comes from a real place.

All I can do is focus on staying true to the style of music I write and sing because that is the only way it's going to come off as honest.

I think the success of my work stems from being truthful.

The only people who have doubts about the sincerity of my music are people who come to it relatively late, off the back of having seen me in a film. Acting is about being other people, and music is about being myself.

No book that is written for an external purpose is going to be a passionately felt book for the writer or the reader. I don't see the point in doing that.

I think what you're always looking for as artists is to be honest and to continue to be honestly driven by that which you are passionately engaged with. It should need not be forced.

The most important thing for me as an artist is having an identity.

The responsibility of an artist is to be honest with themselves.

When you write a song, you don't ask if it's good or not, or if it's gonna sell. When you write a song, you ask whether you've reached deep inside your heart and whether it's honest.

I play a certain style. I'm not willing to compromise that part of me.

I wanted to create a body of work that I was proud of. It's come from honesty and integrity, without forcing anything from myself, the ideas had to come instinctively and organically. Whether that translates to people in that way, it's kind of out of my hands now.

I don't feel I have to be Jackson Browne. Still, I like to say something.

I think the key for any kind of artist - and this transcends music - is a certain degree of authenticity and sincerity.

I wanted what I was doing to be really true to me and my tastes. That's what 'Worlds' was, me taking a break from what I was doing and doing something that was honest, authentic and real.

I try to place what I creatively have to say above who I am.

I think that one of the beautiful things about theatre - and a place like 'Powerhouse' - is that who you are is informing your work. There's actually no separation from that.

If you pretend to be somebody that you're not when you write songs - and I did that on some of the early Styx albums - nobody cares about what you have to say.

It doesn't matter even if I am slow or fast as long as my films are honest and carries my integrity.

What's the point of rap if you can't be yourself, huh?

I didn't want to do the whole, get the hottest person thing. I wanted to make sure every record felt right.

I've learnt that I've had the best results from just trying to be me, trying to make a movie or TV show I want to see or write a script I want to read, and that's really all I can offer - being authentic.

I would rather die than be a serious artist, or a fake artist.

I am quite certain in my heart of hearts that modern music and modern art is not a conspiracy, but is a form of truth and integrity for those who practise it honestly, decently and with all their being.