Wyatt Cenac Quotes

I'm really excited because Interscope is really focused on artists. They've been working side by side with me creatively and allowing me to make a lot of the creative decisions, which you don't always hear about. That's why I didn't want to sign originally with a major label.

We just like to make great songs and have fun, and if people want to nominate us for a Grammy and celebrate it, then we'll take it.

I think if you're able to make the music you want and you can do it in the right kind of context, you don't have to be a circus ringleader to be successful.

You can now be a master of your own destiny. I'm not sure why you would sign up with a record label.

The reason I never wanted to sign with a big label was because I didn't want no one telling me how to make my music.

I get offers to do huge-budget music videos with big production companies all the time, but I have no interest.

The potential success that could come with signing with a major label didn't quite outweigh how important it was for me to make my music the way I knew it needed to be made.

Writing, producing and directing, I must say, is incredibly satisfying and gratifying.

When you're your own producer, you do the most ridiculous, insane things.

I never had many problems to do my music and to give it to a record company. Rarely do they try to argue with me about my music, probably because it's still too far-out.

I'm not ashamed of selling millions of records. I'm very fortunate to be in that position.

When I started out, I wrote the songs, recorded the songs, mastered, mixed, did the artwork, made the packaging and did the distribution, all myself. Now I understand what everyone's jobs are, who is doing them right, and who isn't.

A record deal doesn't make you an artist; you make yourself an artist.

The man at Kodak told me the shots were very good and if I kept it up, they would give me an exhibition. Later, Kodak gave me my first exhibition.

It's not just the 'Grammys' that I've pulled out of. I also pulled out of the English awards as well. The reason that I wanted to pull out was because I believe very much that the music industry as a whole is mainly concerned with material success.

I never wanted to be someone who's asking someone to put my work in their gallery. I wanted to be asked.

I've had so much success. I had something to say, I got to say it, people heard it, and they agreed. That's every artist's dream. That's the brass ring.

If you are handed something, it's a blessing and a curse. Look at hip hop artists, they produced everything themselves. Even people like Robert De Niro are getting into production. Again, it's art vs. marketing. Not everyone can take the risk. You have to break a few eggs to make a good omelet.

I'm satisfied with the way 'The Room' turned out, and I don't want to change anything.

I have these songs that I've been playing for so many years. They're so intimate and close to me. And these are songs that probably a major label would not be interested in - some of them, anyway - interested in putting on a record.

I kind of just stumbled into producing. It was more that I was a writer, and the only way you were going to get your songs done was to do them yourself.

With my previous record deal, it'd be like, 'OK, so I have this track then, EMI - do you know any singers, maybe? Do you have any singers on your little label there?' And funnily enough, they didn't. But I prefer finding unknown singers myself anyway.

I spent my life's work doing what I did in Dream Theater for 25 years, so I'm proud of that.

I am comfortable doing independent music; it gives me more freedom as an artiste.

We were never hip, which is fine with me. We aren't that interested in that whole situation. But all the times how we tried and failed to get across in our music, we actually succeeded on 'Superstar Car Wash.'