Bernard Sumner Quotes

Sometimes the problem is not the people in the band, but the people around the band.

Three writers together would be a nightmare of obstreperous self-consciousness.

I think I used to do everything and then people had a problem with that within the band, so we're doing more of a communal thing.

When Stevie and I joined the band, we were in the midst of breaking up, as were John and Christine. By the time Rumours was being recorded, things got worse in terms of psychology and drug use. It was a large exercise in denial - in order for me to get work done.

I'll come in with a string of riffs and direct the musical ideas. But you still need a band and their input to make the ideas come alive. You can't underestimate band chemistry.

Being in a band is a really magical thing because you've got a family and you operate as this one entity. It's very democratic; everyone is involved in the output. But within that, there can be a lot of disagreements and strife.

I think it was probably down to the fact that we weren't together personally as a band. We weren't pulling in the same direction. I always feel if you're having a good time in the studio it actually comes across on the tape and that was a bit of a miserable album for us.

The hardest part, for me, is being in the band and knowing the way I want certain things to sound, but also having to listen to opinions, and very valid opinions, of my bandmates. So, sometimes, I'll have to have conversations with them as a producer and then conversations with them as a bandmate.

Working with friends isn't easy - the nature of an artistic project means it's about two strong visions colliding and a bit of mental wrestling.

We can't seem to put out an album without any drama.

Here's the way Static-X has always worked: I write all the songs by myself - totally and completely by myself - I give demos to the other guys, and then they add their parts to it, and then we argue about stuff and compromise and it turns out being Static-X.

It is hard for 2 creative people to work together for that length of time and not fall out.

Coming from Ruff Ryders, there would be, like, 30 guys in the studio at once, and then me, trying to do my own thing.

I think getting the rest of the guys in the band to write is important.

Those two songs condense the two albums. They also show what the audiences wanted. I was desperate to keep the band together and find something that the public would like.

The real drawback when you write with a partner is that where you want it to go and where they want it to go is similar, but not exactly lined up, and that's where it's going to lead you into trouble.

Groups break up because they never got across what they wanted to do personally, and they have creative differences, and egos start to clash.

Disharmony is natural in any band.

'Human' was controversial within The Killers way before it was controversial to the rest of the world! It caused some problems within the band. Not to throw anybody under the bus, but it was pretty much me and Dave against Mark and Ronnie for a little while. We were standing up for the song.

It's very difficult sometimes having bands, you know, when all the members aren't on the same page.

Like any family, like any group - the Beatles, Led Zeppelin, EPMD, Public Enemy - they've had bumps in the road. I just think that because A Tribe Called Quest is so precious to fans, they were concerned about unveiling some of those things.

When you're in a band, inevitably, someone is siding with someone else, and you're fighting over something that happened in the band five years ago.

Lyric writing is an interesting process in Sonic Youth. There's three people writing now, and we've all had a lot of interest and involvement with expression through words.

We legitimately walked into 'Anthem' head-on, not paying enough attention to internal band tension.

Fleetwood Mac always take a long time to make a record - you know what.