Maynard James Keenan Quotes

We always write way more than we put on a record. We always write a lot-lot.

With 'Light,' I collaborated with a lot of different producers and musicians I respected, and we all wrote and worked on material which I then took to an old-school producer, David Kahne, and we put it all together. The lyrics came first - they were written before the music.

Recording and performing 'Replay' was a learning process throughout, as we focused on the details.

I never punched in anything when I recorded Imaginaryland. Where the title came from is a whole other story.

When we make records, it's hard to pinpoint one thing that inspires a record. It's usually a number of different things that lead to inspiration or wanting to write something down and share it with someone.

That said, everything's important, and every musician who plays on the record is an integral part of it.

Every time I copy something, I can draw it for the rest of my life. But research is so painful - I mean just opening up a magazine looking for a picture of a car or looking out the window looking for a car is just hard!

I hear these melodies. I hear horn lines and string lines. That's what's fun about recording with an orchestra.

I recorded harp first or singing first. I recorded it all together. Part of the reason is that I don't know how to play the songs without also singing. I forget how they progress. I don't think that any of them are verse, chorus, verse, and so on. They are not simple.

Usually I write the songs at home and then I bring them in to the band; when we play them as a band, that's kinda how we figure out the feel of how they're going to be presented on the record or live.

I've written more songs for this record than I ever have in the past so I'm trying to give it a lot of special attention to be sure my ideas really get translated right.

As far as arrangements after the basic track is cut, if I'm writing a horn arrangement or playing strings, I might arrange that, plan that out. Other times, I'll just sit and roll tape.

When I think back now to the recording sessions, there is more improvisation than one hears. It's an ideal combination of arrangements and improvisation. Only a few people are able to listen and say what is composed and what is improvised. It's a unit.

There's the famous thing that the A&R man from the record company is supposed to do: He's supposed to come into the studio and listen to the songs you've been recording and then say, 'Guys, I don't hear any singles.' And then everybody falls into a terrible depression because you have to write one.

We just did a few takes of a song and just picked the best one. It was real organic and genuine.

I think people can just make things now. It's kind of what happened with the music industry. Before, a band couldn't afford to go into a nice studio, or if they were going to go into a nice studio, they had to record twenty-five songs in two days. That's not a healthy workflow for anyone.

Whenever I can squeeze it in, I'm writing and recording.

When we cut 'Strangers In The Night,' we did the whole song in two takes.

I've finally figured out how to make a Rodney Crowell record, and that's let it be, leave the mistakes.

When you are making an album, it is about the purpose - you are creating both a concept and vibe, then you follow through with that.

Once I've got something that I feel is strong, if I get long enough to think about it, it'll turn into something. I'll start thinking about the drums - what the drums are doing, what the bass is doing. Then, if I can remember it by the time I get to a recording device, it'll turn into a song.

It's rare when you stumble upon this amazing melody. We'd love to make a 'Let Me Love You' every time we go into the studio, but it's definitely a special one.

For me, it's always just about playing the song and recording it and giving it what it needs as a song.

The creative process for a musician is very different than for a filmmaker. I have an idea, and I can pretty much execute it.

We were playing shows still when we wrote 'Phoebe' and 'Rock All Night.' We got to test those songs in a live setting, so it was nice recording them and knowing which ones really resonated with the crowd.