Tom Waits Quotes

Who I am as a guitarist is defined by my failure to become Jimi Hendrix.

There's art in rhythm playing. Just find it. Make your own art. Find your place, and when it's your time to solo, it's your time to shine.

The problem turned out to be that I never was that kind of an artist.

Ed Sheeran wrote his songs, so I wanted to write my own songs.

I wanted to be the best guitar player in the world. And then my dad got me a portable recorder, so I started writing my own music.

Listening to A. R. Rahman as a five-year-old opened my mind to a whole new set of creative dimensions.

I wanna be one of those special guys. Jimi Hendrix wasn't afraid of who he was. That's the part I emulate.

I wasn't Lennon, or I wasn't McCartney. I was me. And the only reason I started to write songs was because I thought, 'Well, if they can write them, I can write them.'

People create from different places. Some love to create from a tortured place, some from a joyful place. And when I feel like I'm a 5-year-old kid in my backyard playing pretend, that's when I'm happiest.

Honestly, without art and dance, I think I would be a very safe, black-and-white thinker. I wouldn't dare to take any risks or see so much of the world in myself and other people!

For me, what's important is to be inspired and keep moving to grow as an artist and as a person.

I wish I was really talented in music because then I would be doing it. I felt that I could write a decent song, but it was a big struggle.

Songs do write themselves through you; I know people find it hard to believe, but it's true.

A family friend was staying with us once and had brought over a ukulele. I just loved the way she played it. I saved up the money from my 11th birthday and went out and bought one for myself.

One of the things that helped me to be confident is to be the kind of musician that I respect. I always liked musicians who wrote their own songs, and so I started writing my own songs.

Lemaitre has been one of my inspirations ever since I started making music.

I used to be mad, at first, that I couldn't sound like Ice Cube. And I think that was probably one of the best things for me.

I remember my brother came home with a bass and played a blues solo on it. I just went insane for days afterwards learning that.

Growing up, I didn't have any inspirations.

My dad had his own business and was extremely busy, but on a very rare occasion, he would play guitar and sing a bit. I was always fascinated by it. I wrote my first song in first grade because my dad was making songs up during those special moments, and it seemed like a fun thing to try myself.

I try to imagine what the greatest song I could ever write would sound like, and then try to do it.

Before dance came into my life, I don't really remember having any major goals or dreams of wanting to be anything.

Sometimes when you sing someone else's song over and over again or songs that have been given to you, you're afraid to go out there and write one yourself.

I seek out hard things. I tried to imitate other singers. It was a self-discovery for me to move from imitating others to me growing to sing in my own voice. The opera was difficult and it felt like a personal conquest.

I find a lot of inspiration through visuals. When I was 12, I saw Aurora's 'Runaway' music video. Something inside me clicked, like, 'That is what I want to do, no matter whether it goes anywhere or not.'