Jeff Gutt Quotes

I wanted to be a composer before anything else. And my sister was listening to Led Zeppelin in the other room! When I heard that, it was a game-changer.

I like Nirvana, but I couldn't say that I was influenced by them. I like to tell a story.

In high school, I would secretly play Joni Mitchell songs all the time. That's when I started singing and playing at the same time, and I got really into doing that.

Yo La Tengo were a major inspiration for me because they're one of the first bands that I got into on my own, separate from my parents, when I was in high school. I have all their albums. That's the place we'd like be in someday.

I went to see Ocean Colour Scene at Shepherds Bush and and felt part of something. They paved the way for me.

When I was nine, I was passing by a drum class and saw them playing and I was moved. That's why I started making music.

I was in Ann Arbor, and I was told that this singer-songwriter guy wanted to meet me. It was Kurt Cobain. Nirvana had just made 'Bleach.' Kurt interviewed me on a college radio station. It was very strange. He was a fan of mine, and he gave me his album.

I'm lucky to have had the opportunity to perform with bands that have influenced me as a musician over the years.

Nirvana was a band that led you somewhere, as opposed to all the grunge bands that began and ended with themselves.

Kurt Cobain is one of the reasons I started doing music because I just loved to watch them rock out.

My song 'Nevermind' was named after Nirvana's album, so when I had to choose a cover for my Spotify Singles session, choosing 'Like A Stone' by Audioslave was the natural next choice, as I grew up constantly listening to the song.

I'm just done downplaying how much I love Radiohead and how massive of an influence they are on what I do, because it's pretty obvious.

For a little kid like me, growing up in Carle Place, you put on John Lee Hooker late at night, and it's a different reality. I try to feel that music from the inside out because I was really attracted to it.

I'm a huge mimic. That's how I learned to sing. I listened to a lot of Freddy Mercury, obviously.

I've been a fan of Zombie's since the beginning. I've toured with them and have always wanted to play for them.

If it wasn't for guys like Gary Moore, I wouldn't exist. He not only proved that the blues could rock but it could draw a crowd as well. All of which made a huge impression on me.

Right after college, I got really into St. Vincent. She just is so cool and out there. I think that's super-inspiring. And tone and mood-wise, I just love Patsy Cline and Ray Charles.

The reason I got into music was obviously because of bands like The Beatles and Pink Floyd, things like that.

Music is really important to me; Kurt Cobain is important to me. Hearing Nirvana was pretty life-changing.

My dad is my biggest musical inspiration.

My mom used to play a lot of music around the house, and I think that's where I get my inspiration from.

When I first started singing in Paris, I sounded horrible: I was just singing to get some money to eat. And I wasn't singing my own songs: it was Bob Dylan, Bob Marley, Jimi Hendrix. Eventually, when I wrote my own music, my style just came out of my own place.

Dad had four world records, and they happened to be Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan and Ali Farka Toure. I tried singing like these people, and it didn't work.

You know, 'Paid in Full' is a classic album, man. It kind of got me to where I am now, so I can never get tired of 'Paid in Full.'

To me, the most important artists in my career are Arcangel and Balvin. Arcangel gave me the push, the respect in the streets.