"YES. Never play to the gallery. But you never learn that. (laughs). Not until much later, I think. Always...(pauses for 3 seconds)...always remember that the reason that you initially started working is that there was something inside yourself that you felt that if you could manifest in some way, you would understand more about yourself and how you coexist with the rest of society.
I think it’s terribly dangerous for an artist to fulfill other people’s expectations — they produce...generally produce their worst work when they do that.
And another thing I would say is if you feel safe in the area that you’re working in, you’re not working in the right area. Always go a little further into the water than you feel you’re capable of being in. Go a little bit out of your depth, and when you don’t feel that your feet are quite touching the bottom, you’re just about in the right place to do something exciting."
-David Bowie, Advice to Young Artists
I think it’s terribly dangerous for an artist to fulfill other people’s expectations — they produce...generally produce their worst work when they do that.
And another thing I would say is if you feel safe in the area that you’re working in, you’re not working in the right area. Always go a little further into the water than you feel you’re capable of being in. Go a little bit out of your depth, and when you don’t feel that your feet are quite touching the bottom, you’re just about in the right place to do something exciting."
-David Bowie, Advice to Young Artists
“…I was reading a book on the life of Van Gogh today, and I had to pause and think of that wonderful and persistent force—the creative urge. The creative urge was in this man who found himself so much at odds with the world he lived in, and in spite of all the adversity, frustrations, rejections and so forth—beautiful and living art came forth abundantly…if only he could be here today. Truth is indestructible. It seems history shows (and it’s the same way today) that the innovator is more often than not met with some degree of condemnation; usually according to the degree of his departure from the prevailing modes of expression or what have you. Change is always so hard to accept. We also see that these innovators always seek to revitalize, extend and reconstruct the status quo in their given fields, wherever it is needed. Quite often they are the rejects, outcasts, sub-citizens, etc. of the very societies to which they bring so much sustenance. Often they are people who endure great personal tragedy in their lives. Whatever the case, whether accepted or rejected, rich or poor, they are forever guided by that great and eternal constant—the creative urge. Let us cherish it and give all praise to God.”
-John Coltrane (from Coltrane on Coltrane: The John Coltrane Interviews, Edited by Chris DeVito)
-John Coltrane (from Coltrane on Coltrane: The John Coltrane Interviews, Edited by Chris DeVito)
“I’ll never forget that one night I was in a small little town somewhere, and I got this call from Bill Evans, and it was six months before he died, and he said, ‘Tony,’ he said, ‘just think truth and beauty,’ he said, ‘just forget the rest.’ And that was his last words to me.”
-Tony Bennett, on Bill Evans
-Tony Bennett, on Bill Evans
"Ronnie, Scotty, and Dave were very good dreamers, which is mostly what my dusty Midwest is all about. The land that time forgot. Pete Townshend said something nice about that. He said it must be really difficult for a bright person in the Midwest because you don't have a London or a New York City that can provide you with fresh input, that can rub against you and rub off any illusions." (Iggy Pop, page 39)
"Overnight, punk had become as stupid as everything else. This wonderful vital force that was articulated by the music was really about corrupting every form - it was about advocating kids to not wait to be told what to do, but make life up for themselves, it was about trying to get people to use their imaginations again, it was about not being perfect, it was about saying it was okay to be amateurish and funny, that real creativity came out of making a mess, it was about working with what you got in front of you and turning everything embarrassing, awful, and stupid in your life to your advantage." (Legs McNeil, page 366)
-Please Kill Me: The Uncensored Oral History of Punk by Legs McNeil and Gillian McCain
"Overnight, punk had become as stupid as everything else. This wonderful vital force that was articulated by the music was really about corrupting every form - it was about advocating kids to not wait to be told what to do, but make life up for themselves, it was about trying to get people to use their imaginations again, it was about not being perfect, it was about saying it was okay to be amateurish and funny, that real creativity came out of making a mess, it was about working with what you got in front of you and turning everything embarrassing, awful, and stupid in your life to your advantage." (Legs McNeil, page 366)
-Please Kill Me: The Uncensored Oral History of Punk by Legs McNeil and Gillian McCain
"But before the lessons, I also remember how the music used to sound down there in Arkansas, when I was visiting my grandfather, especially at the Saturday night church. Man, that shit was a motherfucker. I guess I was about six or seven. We'd be walking on these dark country roads at night and all of a sudden this music would seem to come out of nowhere, out of them spooky-looking trees that everybody said ghosts lived in. Anyway, we'd be on the side of the road--whoever I was with, one of my uncles or my cousin James--and I remember somebody would be playing a guitar the way B.B. King plays. And I remember a man and a woman singing and talking about getting down! Shit, that muisc was something, especially that woman singing. But I think that kind of stuff stayed with me, you know what I mean? That kind of sound in music, that blues, church, back-road funk kind of thing, that southern, midwestern, rural sound and rhythm. I think it started getting into my blood on them spook-filled Arkansas back-roads after dark when the owls came out hooting. So when I started taking music lessons I might have already had some idea of what I wanted my music to sound like."
-Miles: The Autobiography, Miles Davis with Quincy Troupe (1989).
-Miles: The Autobiography, Miles Davis with Quincy Troupe (1989).