Maceo Parker Quotes

Nobody was listening when I learned how to play music. But there's something about being on stage, talking to the audience, looking at them and smiling, that's always been difficult for me. I'm a lot more comfortable now, but there are still moments of awkwardness.

I can never remember being afraid of an audience. If the audience could do better, they'd be up here on stage and I'd be out there watching them.

I'd love to give my music to someone who really likes to wow the crowd. I feel like half the time I just want to hide in the dressing room!

When you're on stage, you're in control. No one can get to you.

Onstage I have a natural chutzpa that audiences like. I'm out there.

I can sing in front of people. I can go on a TV show, live, and not feel like I'm going to throw up.

I'm hideously shy as myself, but on stage I can run around naked and bite the heads off fish.

I am comfortable performing now. I love it!

I'm confident as hell when I step in front of the mic.

Everyone will clearly be a bit nervous and scared before going onstage. But what I do is just remember that this is my passion. Once I get on the stage and see everyone smiling and looking at me, the joy that it brings to me makes me forget all about my nerves.

Every time I sing, it it's a reminder to myself that I have to be confident.

I think I will always be performing; I don't think I can take that away. Because I really just enjoy it. I like getting up to sing; I like the challenge of learning new material and singing it in front of an audience.

I'm a huge karaoke fan. Oh my God. I'm one of those girls who don't give the mic away. It's a problem. I'm a closeted pop star.

I think on stage there's a side of me that comes out that's very fierce and confident.

It took me a long time to be alright with smiling onstage.

Going out on a stage publicly and not knowing how people are going to react to you - once I experienced that, it made me feel much more comfortable about going into a scene.

In a strange way, I'm way more comfortable onstage than anywhere else.

And when I perform on my own tour, I have to talk myself into going out on that stage every single night.

Strangely enough I'm better on a stage. I love that I feel like I blossom in front of a whole bunch of people.

I don't think that just because you go on stage you are an exhibitionist.

People think I look odd onstage. But the way I deal with being incredibly nervous is by concentrating really hard.

I feel like I own the stage.

I'm actually sometimes nervous right before a performance, but as soon as I'm on the stage I'm like, 'okay, we're gonna rock this baby.'

I like getting up in front of an audience. It's fun when you go to a baseball game and the crowd is cheering you. I can't deny it. And it's very funny, too. Sometimes you're shy; you go somewhere and everyone's looking at you, so you feel a little self-conscious.

As soon as I got up on that stage, and I remembered how welcoming and warming the judges, their presence is, and it was just all uphill from there.