Gwen Stefani Quotes

'The Haters' has some of the generalities of band experiences that I've had - the camaraderie, the grubbiness, the outsized collective ambitions and frequent painful collisions with reality - but very few of the specifics. I guess it was a way for me to take some of my experiences to their logical crazy extremes.

We want to stay on this tour bus together as long as we possibly can. I'm sure a lot of bands are like, 'I need my own space.' But we don't. I want to be with these guys forever.

I enjoy just showing people other sides of me, especially everyone always sees me in my helmet and ski suit. It's nice to just show everyone me, just me in my everyday clothes or just me in high heels or just me not in my ski gear, basically.

I feel really comfortable when it's just me and a guitar. It's special and more vulnerable to strip it down. It can be scary, but it's also empowering.

We became friends as we became a band. Our friendship evolved as the band evolved. It had its ups and downs, but it was mostly ups for the four of us. We got along well almost all of the time. Hey! We liked each other and we still do.

The guys in my band are good friends on and off the stage. The band members that I have now is probably the best band that I have ever had.

I like being boring to a certain extent. I don't have to be flashy. I get to put all of that into a show, and when it's over, I don't have to be that.

I feel it's quite important to have a band but what's more vital is to be friends with the members of the band. If there's not a bond there, you won't be able to jam. Apart from that, it's also vital to have the same vibe.

When you're in a band, it's a close-knit thing. There's a lot of emotional stuff.

The fact is, for the first 10 years I toured as a solo artist, I wasn't playing any of the songs I didn't write or sing.

We all came to the conclusion that we have an undeniable chemistry musically, that we might not ever find again. The mix of friction and camaraderie channels good songs, performances and laughs.

The Heartbreakers were what you imagine being in a band would be like - best buddies and great players and guys who took it all really seriously.

I was competing for attention in a four-piece band that was phenomenal, and I was trying to attack the blues from a kind of white English viewpoint as a singer.

I feel like I never get to play any version of myself or get to be a normal person.

I can't presume to speak for the others, but I never felt anything negative from anyone when I was onstage with Television. When I played rhythm behind Lloyd, the only thing that concerned me was to push him as hard as I could so that he'd go beyond what he was capable of and come up with something new, and vice versa. That's the only thing that mattered.

Too many actors are trying to be cool: they're trying to do it with their hair, trying to do it with the color, trying to do it with clothes, or some bullshit attitude you're either cool or you're not, that is my theory. If you have to try, it is too late.

I don't try to be anything. I just want to play my game.

In my music, I'm trying to play the truth of what I am.

When I'm on stage, and when I'm comfortable or uncomfortable, I have sort of a knee-jerk reaction to try to make people laugh. It's my version of a handshake to show that I want to make a connection and to show what I'm truly like. It's kind of my statement like, "This is what I'm really like. I'd like you to love me."

Obviously I still gig on my own, but I've always heard my music with a band.

Actually, it's great to play with someone who tries to come up with interesting drum beats because it pushes the music in different directions.

If you have a friend, what's the best way you can experience her beauty? It's to really accept her. She's weird in this way, I accept it. She's hard to talk to, I accept it. Then that person eventually will come all the way out into the sun. I think it's the same way with our talent. We say, "Look, I'm not going to judge you. I'm going to try to use you in the very best way."

I just sit there and try to think of stuff that I could do that's a little different but still not step outside of who I am.

Music has always helped me stay creative and grounded because I'm traveling and shooting and trying to understand other people. Music was something I could just sit in a room and make with my friends.

It's just me and I try to be myself when I'm singing.