Merle Haggard Quotes

I've always had a bazillion songs in my archive, but I want to play people stuff they know. Now that I have two albums' worth of material, that gives me freedom to compose a set that's more well-balanced and build a show rather than just a recital of some songs.

So you can have your program, but you also have to be ready to change it immediately because there are certain kinds of people who like certain kinds of songs and they like - some people want to dance when you come out, some people just want to be intimate with you. So you kind of feel your way through a show.

I don't know how other bands play the same songs every night.

I don't believe in, and I am a devout non-believer, in playing new songs live if the subjected and pathetic crowd has not heard them before because I consider it like mass psychosis and genocidal.

Each night, we try something new, play different songs, see what works, what goes down well, mix it up a bit until we find the right mix.

I can be a traditionalist but also play with Luke Bryan and get the crowd to go crazy. I think that mix is a lot of what has kept me going and kept people fired up about the music.

'Entertainment Tonight' would send me out to do interviews with musicians like Sting and Coldplay, and I was able to watch how they plan their shows. The late Jerry Garcia of Grateful Dead always had a game plan, but he also was flexible if he had to change something at the last minute.

It's been a long time since we've been out there playing new material, and we have really enjoyed that. Of course we still enjoy playing the Yes standards as well, but it's great to have a bit of a challenge and pull off new material.

Not everybody likes or understands a drum solo, so I like to bring in effects and sounds to keep their interest.

It was so much fun to do, play the blues and then play a Monkees' set on the same night.

If you improvise a riff and the crowd immediately reacts to it, you know you're on to something.

What I like about playing America is you can be pretty sure you're not going to get hit with a full can of beer when you're singing and I really enjoy that!

When I am performing live, I walk into a room, and I just try to get a feel for the vibe, and I am coming from different angles musically. I might come with a new song, I might come with some hip-hop, with some R&B. Once I find my way, then I am hitting you, and hitting you all night.

My shows are always a mix of songs from all my albums with some rocking covers thrown in for fun.

Most of the people I hang out with who sing love it, and they just want to do it until they die. I still look forward to the performances. And believe it or not, they're all kind of different. Even though you sing the same songs, and maybe you go to the same venues, it just feels completely different every time you go on stage.

Your band members? Your band members don't want to be tied to a machine. They want to be playing. That's what the Beatles did. And the Beatles' stuff is timeless. That's what I would suggest. Just get back to sweating, playing hard, hammering, and having a blast.

I don't want to just go out and do song to song to song. I like to create things before the song actually kicks in, little things you do to excite the crowd.

The music is fun. The big difference performing it live is that we might get a little more heated, not as subdued, we'll stretch things out more. It's how you stay fresh after such a long time in the business.

I can play whatever I want and play whatever the fans want to hear. I don't have to be like a salesperson up there talking about my CD through the whole show.

I love hearing the same songs over and over again - as long as queens challenge themselves to come up with new ways of performing them.

When I go to do a show, it's my time; it's all about me. You've come to see me. You haven't come to see me if you're in an armchair watching a video. It's very distracting.

I can't just play in a rock band. The National is a great, exciting band to play in. We improvise a lot onstage, and it's very intense, but after a while, I crave other kinds of experiences.

With solo shows, you have complete control over the set list. If you feel like you want to do something different or do a new song, you can just work it in. You can talk to the audience or not talk to the audience. There's nothing that's set.

Playing new songs at festivals is weird, obviously. People at festivals are always a bit drunk, and probably just want to hear stuff they know by bands they love, or are checking you out and don't know your stuff very well.

When people come to see me, they'll see what they know me for. Hits from the past, but I always mix in a little something new. New stuff. Old stuff. It creates a great show. There's a lot of crowd participation. A lot of interaction and energy. That's what I do best.