Performer Psychology Quotes

I just want to live on the road. I can't understand artists that don't want to perform and, like, get on stage and do their songs for all their fans every night. If I'm not performing every night, I get totally depressed. I know that sounds really weird, but I hate sitting at home and not having a 1 A.M. performance now. It kills me.

The mind starts to do things that you didn't even realize it could do. I suppose it's the manipulation. I suppose it's the sense of power, the center of attention, and the me-ism. And performers have to have that.

All singers must be crazy. But we're a nice family of crazy people

Not working is bad for you. It is my drug, it gives me a high; most performers will tell you that. And there is nothing like the high that an audience gives you.

I know that as a performer how much we rely on the fans for how we feel and react.

I love hearing positive things; somewhere, way deep down, I'm sure I'm an egomaniac. I guess all performers are, in a way.

Performers are the neediest people in the world. Unless you've been in that goldfish bowl - nobody can judge unless they've worn those shoes.

I've always had a huge fear of dying or becoming ill. The thing I'm most afraid of, though, is being alone, which I think a lot of performers fear. It's why we seek the limelight - so we're not alone, were adored. We're loved, so people want to be around us. The fear of being alone drives my life.

An inevitable question asked of a performer who has made a modest success of his career is, 'How has success changed you?' It's a loaded question because it automatically assumes that there has been a change. And, in a sense, the assumption is a correct one. Basically, however, most people remain pretty much the same.

What crushed my soul was hanging out with bitter, desperate comics backstage. They're a different breed than the bitter yet eager psyches in the wings of an improv theatre. Struggling stand-ups have externalized self-loathing into an art form. They're a hunching, quaking, unshaven lot.

I just love being on stage and I love making music, and as far as - it's great for narcissism, because you have all those people screaming out your name.