John Fogerty Quotes

I think music naturally wants to be played with more than one person. There's a surprise element, and you don't know what it will be, and it's up to that other person's energy to help create this third thing.

My solo music - I get up onstage, I improvise and it's my improvisation. When I get up onstage with Fred Frith and Mike Patton, then we're improvising together. Then it's not my music; it's our music.

Andy Timmons is someone I've jammed with many times over the years, and we always have a great chemistry when playing together.

I didn't think of myself as a lead player, especially when we did live shows, because me and Keith used to switch around all the time. He'd take a lead, I'd play rhythm. Sometimes even within one song. It wasn't strict and regimented.

It's great to have all this stuff at home. But when you want to make it for real, there's still nothing like making music with a bunch of other great musicians in the same room. That's one thing that'll never change.

Yeah, improvising only really works 100% when you're with somebody.

When you're making music, it's meant to be shared with people. Sometimes, even if I'm writing a song, someone else brings a vibe. There's something different about it. If someone can play a better bassline than me, I'll let them do it. I'm just here to fit in and see where it goes.

In 'Heart of Gold' at one point, there were 23 players on the stage with him. And part of what's magic about Neil is the way he interacts with the other musicians.

Making music with other people feeds spontaneity, and lends ideas to your solo work.

It's not like I'm writing full songs or full parts and setting it aside for Slash because, generally, I like him to make the first move and hear where he's coming from and what his concepts are, and then I build from there.

Sometimes I like to make music together with a singer or with singers.

I think maybe chance works better in a situation like music because music exists over a period of time, and you don't maintain constantly the you can't refer back from one area to another area.

Singing with Aaron Neville, he pulled stuff out of my voice I never could have gotten, because if he's providing XYZ, I have to put in ABC, and usually I don't have to put in ABC.

I think, in music, you're always hoping that you'll have a like-minded audience and that the music you like making will appeal to them, too.

Bands are about these little relationships that make everything tick, and when you create new music you're testing those relationships.

I'm naturally going to react to that and he'll bring out elements in my musical character that were lying dormant, because I'm relating what he's playing.

I like to be sort of grounded with Fish. But, at the same time, I think probably what's unique about us is the way other dynamics happen, where I'll play off Trey for awhile. When we start playing a jam, I don't usually know what's going to happen, I don't have a plan.

Everything I do is collaborative. It's just my way. I'm really very interested in how the other musicians perceive the song.

I have always needed other musicians to bounce off.

The music has a better feeling when you're responding to what's going on. Music is like playing handball, playing catch with someone, not playing golf. Everywhere the ball bounces is where you respond to it.

You can't make music on your own for your whole life.

When you play with another piano player, it's just second nature to play the parts that need to be played.

Singing duets is instinctive, intuitive.

Collaboration is part of what keeps me interested in music.

Keith Richards has some sort of quote that says 'it takes two people to write a song,' and I'm of that school of thought, too.