Music is a lens through which to see who we are. Every phrase of every piece of music is trying to tell a story.
It used to be that creative music was most of the music that you heard back in the '30s and '40s, and now it's like 3 percent. So, its kind of a struggle getttin' it out there.
I was brought up west southwest coast of Scotland and my mother and father had a music shop, and so I was surrounded by pianos and drums and guitars, and music, of course.
I'm really open to doing music. We just have to figure out what kind of music it's going to be - something where I don't feel compromised.
I write music people enjoy playing and listening to, and I have a group that loves playing the music.
What we don't need in country music is divisiveness, public criticism of each other, and some arbitrary judgement of what belongs and what doesn't.
When I was first aware that I couldn't read music I didn't know I couldn't read because I could play the music that was in front of me.
You say 'African music' and you think 'tribal drumming.' But there's a lot of African music that's like James Brown, and a lot, too, that sounds very Hispanic.
It's my luck to be at the frontier of what looks to be a resurrection of roots music on the international scene. That's really what reggae music is about: that voice against oppression and struggle.
If you talk bad about country music, it's like saying bad things about my momma. Them's fightin' words.
If anybody is excited about my music, that's all I care about. I care about people who are excited about new music.
I didn't try to think what my audience wanted and then make the music accordingly. I made the music and hoped that as many people liked it as possible.
But I did go to music really early on, even when I was 4 or 5, I was responding to music probably in ways other kids were not.
Apart from Scottish traditional music, I wasn't really influenced by any kind of music. I just basically followed my own instincts.
Music begins to atrophy when it departs too far from the dance... poetry begins to atrophy when it gets too far from music.
If I could believe the Quakers banned music because church music is so damn bad, I should view them with approval.
I went to school and studied music for a year at USC, which unlocked a bunch of doors for me in terms of my relationship to music.
I've discovered all kinds of music and done all kinds of music over the past 40 years, from playing tango with Piazzolla to all the different bands I've had.
Music is an extremely powerful force if used properly to uplift people. I believe music should be uplifting and not downgrading... it's a very, very powerful tool.
Music played at weddings always reminds me of the music played for soldiers before they go into battle.
I started off with classical music, and I got into jazz when I was about 14 years old. And I've been playing jazz ever since.
