Bill Callahan Quotes

I started bands at a pretty young age and played with my friends back in Detroit. I've always known that I wanted to do this. It was all I was ever interested in doing. I never had, outside of music, any extracurricular activities that I took part in.

I started writing music with my cousin at, like, 16 and traveled with a '70s band.

I didn't always enjoy playing music with the Trees.

I used to help Viv with the chords and melodies sometimes.

I played in a couple of really crummy bands, including one in the dorm I was in at MIT, for a year or two.

I have a buddy of mine who's a musician, and I play guitar and sing quite a bit with him.

I started playing guitar before I can really remember, and I started writing really early, too.

When I sit down to write a song, it's a kind of improvisation, but I formalize it a bit to get it into the studio, and when I step up to a microphone, I have a vague idea of what I'm about to do.

I like people that can strap on a guitar and don't sweat the fact that you have to come up with a song in an hour. I want to work with someone who won't feel like they have to play along with Jason Molina. I want them to just have the confidence.

Until you learn to play what you want to hear, you're barking up the wrong tree.

I didn't get into music to become a blues musician, or a country musician. I'm a singer-songwriter. In my book that means I get to do whatever I want.

The lead guitar work is a bit repetitious, but when a song is under two minutes long, I don't have much room anyway. Thank goodness. But I've always contributed guitar parts to every band I've ever been in, so I'll always play the axe.

I went from a playing in a bar on a bar stool for free beer and tip money, where people weren't paying attention to me, to now I've got their attention. It's up to me to what I feed them with my music. It's up to me how I do that. I've put a lot of thought into how great the songs are, and how I want people to perceive me.

Rilo Kiley was a rock band, so I wanted my solo records to feel different.

Music. It's all creativity right here, right now.

I love to make music and stay grounded.

Our idea is simply to play the songs and to emphasize our musicianship.

I just wanted to say one more thing: I also think that when you go to play music, you're there to play music.

Experimenting with different sounds is great, but when it comes down to it, you're still playing a guitar.

I got tired of playing other people's songs.

I always knew I wanted to be a musician, and I always knew I wanted to write, 'cause the people I was listening to all wrote. I never thought it was an option to sing anyone else's songs.

I learn stuff from making music every time I go in the studio. I'm continuing to try to find new ways to play in a song or be in a song and have a positive impact on a song.

When I first started drumming, when I was 14 or 15, I started writing songs. I wrote for a couple of years, but when we started 'Radiohead' it became very apparent quite quickly that I just wanted to concentrate on the drumming.

I began both auditioning with Pearl Jam and recording for Eleven. In the fall of 1994, I joined Pearl Jam.

I felt I never needed to fight for a more prominent songwriting and increased vocal role with the Cars.