Mike McCready Quotes

From my time in 'King Crimson,' I'd describe a Progressive band as one that keeps trying to break musical barriers, and keeps trying to do new music.

My intentions have been, and are always, to just really get behind what my ideas are musically and to just ride this thing out, cause it feels good, and I think for the most part it's good music. Even when it's not, I'd like to still search for something that could be even like a little bit mind-blowing or shocking to me.

A good story gives you more of a license to be forward and progressive with the music.

What I really like doing is taking risks, musically.

Music should always be an adventure.

I wanted to try a different way of making music. That's what made me try different things with my voice.

But it can be hard to experiment when you're in a band.

Some of those songs, you really have to bite them. You challenge yourself, you challenge the audience, you do something different. People weren't expecting it.

I definitely try to broaden the scope of music. I don't know if it's pop or classical or what, but I'm religiously challenging myself all the time, for better or for worse.

In the past, I tried to be more of a typical session guitarist. I wasn't so concerned with impressing anybody.

I got to realizing that I wanted to record, I wanted to experiment. And doing those same old songs the same old way - I said, 'I think it's time for me to have some fun.'

Certain jazz musicians just copy what was done 100 years ago. The music won't grow if nobody takes a risk.

In the 1960s and into the '70s, everyone in their own way was trying to open up the musical horizon. There shouldn't be a wall that you're going toward and bouncing off.

All my favorite bands are the ones that push the limits and boundaries.

I have always tried with my shows - win, lose, or draw - to take the boundaries of music as far as I can.

I keep a band of great young people around me, and we're not musically restrained. It's not about 'Let's do it correct' but 'Let's do it right.'

I'm not interested in re-creating the same blues I love so much. I'm interested in pushing boundaries.

I think it's really important to show new styles of song and music. I think that's what people want to see and hear from me.

Swavey is a musical genre that I came up with to describe artists who are too talented to stay in a box with their music.

Especially with Fantomas, i'm just trying to stretch out what the band can do. Figuring out, really, on the job or on recordings, what I can or can't get away with.

I've never been one to just play safe music and think that's all there is to it.

'Waking the Fallen' truly encompasses everything that Avenged Sevenfold was at that time. It was us being fearless, us showing our roots in heavy metal, punk, rock n' roll, and not being afraid to try everything under the sun when it comes to writing music.

The first five albums I did, I tried a little bit of everything. I was trying not to conform at all.

In music, I wanted to make sure I was innovating.

When we did 'Eliminator,' at the time, it was experimental for us. It obviously turned out real successful, but at the time, we caught crap about it from some of our old fans. They thought we were deserting our roots or our old style or whatever.