Mike Patton Quotes

I made 'Heading Out' with a lot of love and surrounded myself with brilliant people who challenged me to do my best and also gave a great deal of love and support back. As a result, the experience was blissful.

Everyone wants the same thing in this band, so we definitely respect each other. I mean, all of us have had hit songs, so it's a band full of people who really know what they're talking about, so you have to respect that even when you think something you have might be great, and they go, 'Man, it's not as great as you think it is.'

When you know people are really at peace with who they are and what they do, they collaborate and want to help you to improve.

First and foremost, I'm fans of the people I'm collaborating with. And collaborations expand who you are.

I'm down to work with anyone as long as it's an organic collaboration.

If I see that everything the director does is motivated by trying to achieve the best, I can accept anything.

Surround yourself with people who will make you better, and learn to listen.

When you work with someone who is not insecure, that makes you confident.

We can improve our relationships with others by leaps and bounds if we become encouragers instead of critics.

There's no such thing as an actor giving positive criticism to a director. The minute you say 'Don't you think it would look nicer...', that director's going to hate your guts. Particularly if it's a good idea.

No man ever got very high by pulling other people down. The intelligent merchant does not knock his competitors. The sensible worker does not work those who work with him. Don't knock your friends. Don't knock your enemies. Don't knock yourself.

Find people who will make you better.

I want people around me who call me out and hold me accountable.

I wouldn't say I worked with these people because I was looking for a particular vocal sound. I worked with them because I loved what they had done before-and because they really wanted to work with me.

I don't see any of my colleagues as rivals. I don't think our generation needs to do that. We are a chilled out lot, and we should all be happy.

I like being in a collaborative and respectful environment. When you're in an environment spearheaded by ego and fear, it's the death of creativity.

I have enjoyed most particularly reading the correspondence between Gustav Mahler and Richard Strauss. The genuine friendship, competitiveness and support that thread through their communications are life lessons for us all.

I've gotten to a place where I still love to play and sing, but I don't have any ego agenda left, outside of just wanting to stay in a creative place and play music. I much prefer to sing for somebody else, and to somebody else.

It's very important to surround yourself with people you can learn from.

I imagined that it might be awkward to talk to your wife about her performance, so going into it I was a little nervous. But doing it was actually a wonderfully inspiring experience.

My brother and I had a real love-hate relationship with my success. There was some bitterness there that I didn't understand until recently, but I told him that if I ever did a record I wanted him to play on it.

That's the nice thing about collaborating with someone: Your work becomes a conversation.

I've never done songs with people just for the sake of the great combination. I've always done songs with friends.

I know that some actors and directors like to have intensity on set. I don't, particularly. Certainly, if they want that, that's fine, but I can't work like that.

I think that's created a healthy environment. The comparisons to 'ER' were maddening and there was this assumption that the two of us were looking at each other with rage and resentment, which was also not the case.