Bryce Dessner Quotes

I was kind of going that route with my country music. Indie country. Which would work, if I was playing on Americana stages. Unless I had a television outlet like 'Glee'.

There's a system in place in Nashville, and for a long time, I was trapped in this idea that the only way to do it was to come to town, get a record deal, and do it the way they say. And that system works. But it caters to a specific kind of artist, and I didn't necessarily fit that mold.

I really value what Closed Sessions is doing to build the Chicago music scene and am excited to partner with them for my first solo project.

Brooklyn is where I primarily developed. I had an opportunity to make records and perform in clubs here and there, and I started networking with the right people in the right places.

With Sumthin Else Music Works, I wanted to spread the love and give newcomers a chance to make it because something that really helped me were all the people who had given me an opportunity when I was putting my career together.

First of all, I think that is true, if you are a musician, particularly on the come, that you do have to end up in one of these musical centers, some way, to be viable, saleable and so on.

I'm from a little island off of Massachusetts, Nantucket. It's hard getting into the music business from there, but my parents took me to songwriting festivals because I would write and produce my own music.

The work I've done through my Common Culture Music series has enabled me not only to share my joy of music at scale but also promote the artists I love.

Everyone in the music industry is so fun and laid-back.

I'm gonna be honest. I don't care about much. I care about people liking my music. I made it very far without nothing being on radio.

I can't wait to start something up myself that is actually about giving unsigned bands the exposure they deserve, especially when they travel so far to play the smallest gig they've ever played in their lives.

As a new artist, you come out, and there are so many other new artists. It seems like there's a whole wave of new artists that come along every year. In '05, I was part of the crop. It was a lot harder trying to set myself apart from the rest of the pack.

I'm excited to be launching D'Leon Records to support other young talent in their development. I have been very fortunate to have been able to break through and succeed in this tough industry, and this is one of my ways of giving back.

I'm treating country music like it's a sport. I'm looking at where my competition is and realized I needed to work on my songwriting.

If I had to play only for people who liked the music because they heard it on the radio, it wouldn't make me happy. That's why I'm working so hard to have, yes, a profile as an artist, but also a profile as a DJ.

I didn't expect major labels would embrace MySpace, and the original idea for music on the site was the unsigned bands, the independent bands.

Castle Face Records, run by The Oh Sees main man, Johnny Dwyer is always worth checking in with.

Even in America, we're not a huge act by any means, Major Lazer.

There was no support system in Seattle for musicians.

When I first started, I wasn't really aware of anything in the industry or aware of who I really was. I just put my music out there and tried to get as many people to hear it as possible. I hadn't really thought about the kind of music I wanted to make.

I've been really trying to put people onto, like, my sound since I was, like, 17, 16.

I went from the most underground band in the world to signing with Madonna's producer and a record label that is extremely mainstream - it was interesting.

There's no real network, and every city in Mississippi is so spread out, so it isn't easy to drive around and pass out CDs. So when an artist from Natchez or Gold Coast or Meridian breaks out, they already know exactly what kind of artist they want to be. The grind and the hustle is just so adamant.

I'm just used to the L.A. music life.

I have a really good relationship with a lot of people in the music industry from Detroit. They're very kind when it comes to us stepping into their field or what they do and they're really willing to help out and help you get better at what you're trying to do.