Robert Del Naja Quotes

The real test of a musician is live performance. It's one thing to spend a long time learning how to play well in the studio, but to do it in front of people is what keeps me coming back to touring.

You either evolve or you don't. I don't like old people on a rock n' roll stage. I think they look pathetic, me included. And the fact that I represent an era means I can't just go out there and do all new stuff. They would all say, 'Sing 'White Rabbit,' and I'd say no? That's rude.

In the years that I've seen concerts, when I've paid to see somebody I want to see, there would be a certain amount of songs I'd want to hear. So whether it's stuff I want to play every night or not - or stuff I've been playing for years or stuff you get tired of playing - you have to play what people pay for and make it fair for them.

When you make albums like I do, and it's based off fanfare and based off touring - I make these albums, and I get on the road. It's not really a radio-driven thing. I get on the road, and I see my fans, and I touch each and every last one of them.

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.

Some people are denizens of the studio. I'm more of a denizen of the live appearance. I love the live thing.

Everybody has their iPhone cameras, BlackBerry cameras, and I see those cameras pointed up at me all the time now, which is actually really good because of what it does for me and my band. There is no time for us not to be on our toes because they're on all the time whenever you're playing. I think it's very healthy.

The reason I don't tour is that I don't know how to front a band. What would I do? I can't really play anything well enough to deal with that situation.

And being away and not performing for a long time and really connecting with my audience for a long time, I have a great responsibility to myself and to them to do it exactly the way the process was when I was young.

Performing is a thing in itself, a distinct skill, different from making recordings. And for those who can do it, it's a way to make a living.

Most of my career has been about standing on a stage performing music to an audience, and once the show is over, they go home and I go on to the next show.

Now, if King Crimson accepts responsibility for innovating its own tradition, you can't accept responsibility for the audience. And there is an enormous tangible weight of expectation, which comes from an audience attending a King Crimson concert.

When you're on stage, you gotta do it. People pay to see you, and they deserve to be entertained, and you should go out there and really give it your best shot. And that's quite a challenge.

You can't sustain a fan base on a great catalog alone. You must take your music directly to the people.

I don't mind doing the Who tours when they come along but I want to get out there and play.

When people pay to see you live, they connect with you on a much deeper level than people who just buy your records.

The fact that Eddie Vedder likes to play 3 hour plus shows a night, I have to be ready for that.

We've always wanted to do it, something you could dance to, and deep down we always thought we could bring something to the table if we could do it, but the live shows always made us pull back and be a rock band.

I've always known, before I had a record deal, that the thing is to go out and put on the show. I've been doing that from day one.

It was really strange for me when I started to play concerts in America where the audiences were all sitting down.

There's a pressure regardless of that to do a good show.

I'm a live performer and I love playing live.

When you're headlining, people are paying to come see you specifically. It's a different kind of pressure, because you've got to deliver. You've got to give these people what they paid for. It's a different mind state, a different type of mentality, but it's honestly a pretty good problem to have, you know?

If I did a show and didn't do Hootie songs, I would be ripping people off.

I don't want to go on tour and have everyone just sitting there waiting for one song.