Jonathan Jackson Quotes

I listened to country music my whole life. I started writing music when I was a teenager. It all came out country.

I made a good living for a teenager. And I had to learn all different kinds of music - jazz, swing, Motown, pop - and that inspired what kind of music I started to write.

When you're talking about your own music every day, listening to bands, going to festivals, you can kind of lose sight of your initial connection with music. Instrumental music - especially jazz - helps me refocus.

Guys like Otis Blackwell and Bobby Darin, and all the guys who were writing songs for Elvis at the time, just hanging around, writing songs, talking about music.

I wrote music as soon as I knew notation.

It was my love for the guitar that first got me into music and singing. Growing up, I was inspired by The Beatles and Bob Dylan. Damian Rice was a huge influence for me musically.

Music is a passion of mine, so I also want to continue along that path, creating with my friends.

I'm very lucky; I have a lot of knowledge. My favorite band is The Beatles, so a lot of inspiration for my music comes from them, too.

The bottom line is that musicians love to make music and always will.

I understand that, but this disc shows the type of music that I've always liked and wanted to make.

I started playing guitar at, like, 12 or 13 and just rock bands mostly. I had a punk rock band and hard core bands and all that.

I don't listen to a lot of music; I write more music than I listen to, for sure.

I do have musical background; I sing.

I think everyone should feel like they can make music, they can create music.

I have been doing music all my life so everyday when I get up I expect music will be part of it.

As a teenager I was obsessed with music and with writing and performing songs.

I'd like to teach kids how to write songs. This will be my first year so I'm just as green as some of the rest of the folks. It's like a music camp and I get to hang out with some of the past contestants.

I just love to have fun with music, and try to find songs that say something that people want to hear.

I am permanently a student of people who make great songs, but besides sort of learning by absorption, I just love listening to music, hearing what's going on, hearing new things or new old things.

I know great songwriters. Fred Neil would come up when he was in L.A., we all used to hang out. He would sit there and sing, and we would just melt. I mean, we would go to his recording sessions.

Anyone who takes the craft of songwriting seriously I radiate towards. Spending time with Daryl Hall was a dream come true. I picked his brain a lot because Hall And Oats is timeless.

I didn't know anything about music when I started a band. I barely knew how to play a guitar. I didn't know how to produce records. I learned how to play bass guitar and keyboards in Rilo Kiley. I picked up a lot from my collaborators.

I like pop music. Earnestly. Most of the greatest technicians, mix engineers, and players are working in pop music.

I'm not a professional; I lack even basic knowledge about writing music.

The main thing is that I've been studying composition for the last four years. I'd say it's the life experience combined with the lessons that enabled me to go much further.