When I perform on stage, I often pretend to be someone other than myself to bring a certain emotion or intent to a song.
There's nothing that makes you so aware of the improvisation of human existence as a song unfinished. Or an old address book.
The Beatles, Rolling Stones, Barbra Streisand, Bruce Springsteen, these are just some of the people who threatened to sue if we used their songs.
I think when you're writing songs, it's impossible to not draw on personal experiences, whether it be traveling or girls or anything. Just emotions.
Words are charms. It's like a song you didn't even know you knew.
Occasionally, you get a nice surprise when someone covers your song in an extraordinary way.
When I get bored, I'll zone out, and I'll just sit in front of my computer and start writing any random song that comes to mind.
Producing all my own songs and refusing to go to the hot producer. That's the biggest risk I've taken so far.
As far am I'm concerned, I don't listen to radio anymore. They play the same ten songs over and over again, so why would I?
Words make you think. Music makes you feel. A song makes you feel a thought.
Most of the songs I sing, they have that blue feeling to it. They have that sorry feeling. And I don't know what I'm sorry about.
Most people say, 'Well, Earl, you sing the blues,' or however they want to categorize it. I just sing songs.
I'm not interested in possible complexities. I regard song structure as a graph paper.
My job is to be some sort of music/lyric psychic, to figure out that that's the right song to not fight the lyric.
I prepared five songs, I sang them, and he hired me. I started working about a month later at the piano bar.
I just write songs that I strongly believe in and that are coming from inside. There's no tricks. It's honesty with big melodies.
It's a blessing as an artist to express myself - whether that be via dance, via song or via speech - in so many different ways.
I'm not in any rush. I'm not somebody who, if I write a song, I get it out. That's not something I've ever really quite done.
The idea that I could write songs that people wanted to hear came from other people who said they liked what I did.
Not only is your story worth telling, but it can be told in words so painstakingly eloquent that it becomes a song.
I wasn't thinking of the longevity of any of my songs, but I am extremely pleased with the lasting effect.
