Silence is the element in which great things fashion themselves together.
Anyone who writes knows that ultimately the majority of your time is spent alone in a room with a piano or a guitar, no matter what the project is.
Music has always been my protection against the world, from a very young age. I feel safe inside of a jam.
We want to have a spontaneous adventure. You can't plan an adventure, or it ceases to be one.
Ideally the point of music is community, not the player. Musicians are simply channels to link the audience to the music and to each other.
There are no Jerry Garcias coming down the pike, anymore than there is a Jimi Hendrix or Bob Marley. They are all at the same level - the highest level that you strive to get to as a musician. Me and my friends - we'll all be long dead, people will still be trying to dig into what Jerry Garcia did.
It's like you're surfing. . . The same wave that can be a source of pain can be a beautiful flowing grace and source of power. It's all a matter of how you respond to it.
But however happy you are feeling, you can't talk with your mouth full of snow.
I have always tried to sense the mood of the people, their needs, their attitude toward ways to solve problems, their priorities. That's mainly what I go by. And I think that's the most important thing in any person's work, in the work that the people of Russia entrusted in me.
I have 12 paintings of Kaufman art. He is an amazing artist.
And in this moment, I realize one reason it's so great to have a best friend is sometimes, like right now, Cal and I are thinking the very same thing.