John Gourley Quotes

Well, my musicians are my friends.

Bands are about these little relationships that make everything tick, and when you create new music you're testing those relationships.

Music is pretty intimate stuff and I can only work with very few people: Gonzalez being one, Mocky being another and, on a completely different level, Broken Social Scene. With Broken Social Scene it's not one-on-one, it's a one-on-12. It's very healthy, very comfortable, like a big pot luck supper among old friends.

I would like to think that Ben and myself have begun a partnership that will take us into different areas of music that we can continue to write, enjoy and keep me involved with music other then what I do with RUSH.

I've been in very many situations where I've not liked the other members of the band or they have not liked me. I grew up presuming that's the way music was made. It doesn't need to be that way. It's taken me years years to find that out.

I've been lucky enough to be in this amazing band, and to me, a band is really a collaborative unit, and that's definitely been what Sonic Youth has been.

Coldplay are just four friends trying to make great music.

When you keep the caliber of musicians very high in the band, people are going to come and go. Some of them will be people who have to try various things, it's natural.

It's hard to say when the life of a band starts and stops... but playing music together is an act of trust. When that's broken, it's impossible to continue.

I just play the music that I love with musicians that I respect, and fortunately, I'm in a position where people are willing to play with me, and perhaps I can do something to help them.

If you want to make beautiful music, you must play the black and the white notes together.

It's a lot more comfortable, I must say. Ummm, I didn't think I'd be playing with another band, I kinda thought I was through with that, but I make an exception because they're nice people.

I think that Yes' music is kind of on its own out there, and it goes through different chapters, and that involves different people. I don't think it's a case of 'any year is better than any other.' They can all co-exist quite comfortably.

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

If a band is really good and the chemistry is unique, it should continue. But I guess David is just very happy doing his solo career. He's got a different band every time he goes out.

Rock n' roll as a genre is different from pop and hip hop: it is about bands, and that for me suggests brotherhood, family, friendship and community.

I think my music has always been a mixture, depending on whom I'm working with - what band, what musicians, what producer.

Without a doubt, my richest relationships are my long-term friendships with musical partners, because we make music together. That's what we love to do with our lives.

Your band members? Your band members don't want to be tied to a machine. They want to be playing. That's what the Beatles did. And the Beatles' stuff is timeless. That's what I would suggest. Just get back to sweating, playing hard, hammering, and having a blast.

We were friends for a year before we started playing music together. We both think it's pretty important. Tyler's my friend before he's a guy in my band, and when we talk to each other about things, it comes from a friend standpoint, not just a business standpoint.

I feel it's quite important to have a band but what's more vital is to be friends with the members of the band. If there's not a bond there, you won't be able to jam. Apart from that, it's also vital to have the same vibe.

Taylor Goldsmith and I hit it off big time, and so we started writing some songs together.

Collaboration is part of what keeps me interested in music.

Mike is a genius guitar player and keyboard player. I realized that, with this group, I just joined Mike Keneally's band!

We started this band as kids, and as time has gone on, we've grown and are learning to accommodate each others' differences.