I don't feel like singing should be taken lightly. It's one of the hardest things I've ever done, but it's coming along.
At the end of the day, I think having some life experience is helpful to play any kind of music.
I don't think money can help you become a better painter, for sure. You can have all the studios you want; it won't help you make a better painting.
The way I learnt to play was to go out there and enjoy myself. I never thought I'd play professionally.
Each has his own happiness in his hands, as the artist handles the rude clay he seeks to reshape it into a figure; yet it is the same with this art as with all others: only the capacity for it is innate; the art itself must be learned and painstakingly practiced.
The way I look at it, a footballer wouldn't play in flip-flops or dip their feet in acid and then expect to get to David Beckham's level. My voice is my living, so I'll be looking after it.
Songwriting wasn't my gift. I think you have to cultivate a gift; you have to practice and develop craft around your gift so that you can execute it in more convenient, efficient ways.
Becoming a musician is a strange thing. It's not all cupcakes and ice cream. You're trying to master an instrument, and you sometimes can't tell if you're getting better. You love it, but you also hate it.
Frank Sinatra taught me how to do him. It took me seven years to master him. He would tell me, tap your foot, Rich, and don't forget to grasp your sleeve.
I acted as a hobby when I was a child but wasn't initially very good at it.
Although I wasn't fond of the violin in the beginning, as I played on I developed a fondness which soon turned into a passion.
My singing teacher said it would take three years before I could sing well enough to be accepted as a professional. They were wrong. It took me five years.
In dancing, you can work hard and improve and see the results. With acting, you can work hard, and it's still luck of the draw.
Too many young musicians today want to win polls before they learn their instruments.
