Every single person in my life and every relationship I have is distant because all I do is music.
When I travel too much, it affects the music, and that is the most important thing. As long as I make good music, I can play shows, but if the music starts getting bad, the show offers won't come.
I hate to say this, but I always listen to the music and the instrumentation first, and then grab on to the lyrics later.
I want my fans to listen to my music. Period.
I think music should be the basis of an education, not just something you do once a week.
It's a privilege to serve the poor, to be servants of noble Africans, but I better belong in the rehearsal room or in the studio with my band. That's where I want to be and I still wake up in the morning with melodies in my head.
I love Hootie & the Blowfish and what we do, but that's not my main focus anymore.
Sometimes it's hard to open up about your personal life, your relationship because you always want the music to be in the forefront. You want the music to be the biggest carrier of everything that you represent.
Everyone reaches their point in time where either they die or they get sick of doing drugs. It started getting debilitating. I enjoy my music a lot better than my drugs.
Solos I kind of [couldn't] care less about. I know most people probably think that's what I care most about, but it's really the melody playing that is the cornerstone of what I'm working on.
Once your career becomes about something other than the music, then that's what it is. I'll never make that mistake.
For me, I was a musician long before I was an actor.
Music is first, lyrics are secondary.
People always want to romanticize relationships within bands. Most of these relationships are based on music first.
The music is the main thing and it's just as easy to write acceptable words.
We wanted to incorporate lights and the like to really accentuate the music. We play mostly small venues, so we don't use it overboard by any means. The most important thing is the music. I think we do a good job of letting that show.
I don't look at myself as a designer; I'm focused on music.
In the beginning of my career, I wanted to be chased by girls more than anything - that's why I got the guitar. By the time we were in ABBA, the music was the only important thing.
To some extent, I've always felt that the music should be the thing that creates the emotion in you, rather than a video.
Music is the medium. Words merely enhance the composition.
And to understand this, I think this is a most important point where I would like always to be understood what we do with the New York Philharmonic. That the meaning of the music is number one.
People find it confusing I'm in a band, even though music was my main thing before acting.
I like to make super music instead of working with superstars.
I'd rather make music than tour.
It's always the music first for me. But if the music isn't selling, there isn't gonna be no business. So you gotta make sure music is always the first priority.
