It's one of my short-term goals, to be able to actually record music and release it simultaneously and not just hold on to it.
I'm always writing my own music, recording my own music, even if I am 9/10 of the time recording stuff for other people. I'm still working on my own creative endeavors.
When people wanna come buy beats or wanna record a song, I'm trappin'.
So I have probably 1,200 little bits of paper with notes, which when the Ambien really starts to kick in, don't really make much sense. Say what you like about prescription drugs, but they do help when you're sequencing a record.
I do a lot of performing, but don't get a chance to go to the studio and write good music.
While there used to be one or two Pops orchestras, now there are all kinds of European orchestras that suddenly look upon this as a golden wand that can enable them to make money recording this music.
When I want to play music, you've got to get me on tape or else it goes.
I'm very proud of all the bluegrass-oriented albums. It just reminded me and my fans that I should always record acoustic music and country records, along with anything else that I might want to do.
I enjoyed singing, I loved song writing, I loved recording. All those things that involves with creating music was great.
I'm always going to do that - record and make music.
If you think about rap and how it has become so much easier to record music and release it, and you think about everyone in the world being a 'rapper' these days, it's so much easier. But it's still as hard as ever to break through and truly be successful in this industry.
I'm just not going to tour. One point I want to get across to everybody is that I'm still going to make records and I may still do some events. It's not the last time I'm onstage. It's been a part of my life for too long to quit everything. I have done it since the '80s, and I think it's time now to maybe see if I can live without that part.
While we were promoting 'Wide Open Spaces,' we set aside time to write. We went on several writing retreats where nobody could get hold of us. It was the only way we could take a step back and reflect and write and be living a semi-normal life for a while.
I got to realizing that I wanted to record, I wanted to experiment. And doing those same old songs the same old way - I said, 'I think it's time for me to have some fun.'
These people who have everything at their disposal as far as cash and connections, I think they just get so mired in the business side of things that they don't just sit at home and record records. Anybody can do that.
I've been making demos at home for many albums now. So over those years, I've learned how to record music, and I love being at home. I excel when I can make things at home.
Being in a rock band is about touring. It's about writing songs and it's about making records but it's also about taking a wonderful smile onto that stage and making the people feel good about themselves.
I was in about in the 8th grade when I started recording R&B, so much of what was on was the Motown sound, and The Beatles had pretty much come over and taken America by storm.
Over a year before I started recording Salad Days, so I finally sat down and was like I have to do this. And it did feel like a chore. I was looking at it in a completely wrong way, trying to one up myself. Just the typical sophomore album bullshit. The main thing I got out of it is I eventually gave up on all that stuff. I had to re-learn why I liked making music in the first place, why I liked recording in my room all the time. Because it's fun. It's fun for me.
I wanted to live in a house. I wanted to have a place where I could record at home - all of these things I'd wanted to do for years.
My idea is to play with the people who you know want to get it right. Then it's fun and easy to record, and you can get down to details, like taking out cymbals so the verse doesn't dwarf the chorus, something like that.
When I was 13, I told my dad I needed to record myself because I sounded awesome, even though I didn't. By 18, I was a lot better. Then I got a publishing deal, so I was writing songs for other people professionally.
Makin' records is one art form and playin' live is another. It's like the difference between makin' a movie and doin' theatre.
I fly to London or the U.S. to record my music nearly once a month.
I write and record all the time; it's my hobby and my passion.
