Don’t let the urgent take precedent over the important.
You can't just find yourself doing something and not happy doing it.
You can't expect to be the same person you were three years ago. Some people expect you to be and can't come to terms with the fact that if a year has elapsed between LPs, that means one year's worth of changes. The material consequently is affected by that, the lyrics are affected by that. . . the music too.
This week, I'm a gypsy. Maybe next week it'll be glitter rock.
I'm at my best when I'm exhausted and under pressure.
There's a very old recording maxim that goes, 'Distance makes depth. ' I've used that a hell of a lot-whether it's tracking guitars or the whole band. People are used to close-miking amps, but I'd have a mic out around the back, as well, and then balance the two. Also, you shouldn't have to use EQ in the studio if the instruments sound right. You should be able to get the right tones simply with the science of microphone placement.
I'm not a guitarist as far as a technician goes, I just pick it up and play it. Technique doesn't come into it.
I had no reason to want to copy anybody else. What I wanted to give audiences for the few minutes that I thought my career would last was something unique.
I just look for characters that have dimensions. If I don't see it written on the page, then I try to put it in there somehow. You don't want to play the same role twice.
You will have to look at the tape. Actually, you could burn the tape. It's not even worth looking at. . . We just have to move on to next week. If we just get the next one we will be fine.
The students who work with me believe in science in service of society, not science in service of career building.