Solo Performance Quotes

I cannot exist as a solo artist.

Swing is my main weapon.

Experience has shown me that standing by oneself reading from one's book isn't especially compelling - unless you're David Sedaris.

I actually think to some degree that people are down for longer shows with an acoustic show.

It's a luxury to not have to just be performing with other people to have my music heard.

You've got to be fit to box. In football, if you need a breather, your team-mate can take over. There's no one in the ring to help out.

I feel really comfortable when it's just me and a guitar. It's special and more vulnerable to strip it down. It can be scary, but it's also empowering.

My solo shows require a sit-down, indoor space.

I have to be my own artist. I need the world to know who I am, especially for music. When it comes to acting, that is a whole other story. I have no complaints; that's a team effort. It's not just me, it's everyone. But when it comes to music, it is solo; that's all me.

Getting to do 'December Songs' in a cabaret-style format was so interesting because it's like a one-woman song cycle that actually tells a story. It feels like a theatrical experience more than a cabaret because I didn't talk in between. We went from one song to the next, nine songs in a row - bam - I told the story in half an hour.

I don't have a sidekick - no Ed McMahon. So when I go out there, I'm lonely. It's scary.

When I graduated, I was director of my school's sketch comedy group, and I knew that I wanted to be writing and performing my own sketch comedy. It kind of made me want to do my own one-person sketch group.

I hadn't performed by myself in a while. It feels very natural to me, and I assume people come for the very same reasons as they do when I'm with the band: to be moved, for something to happen to them.

I've made quite a number of movies like Castaway and a few others where I'm the only guy in the movie and the only place to be is right next to the camera in costume ready to go in order to get it. The years, and more specifically probably the four months prior to beginning shooting, is where the big preparation is that the director does because I knew we were going to get on the set. And the good news is, if you're the boss, if it ain't good, you don't use it. You just cut it out.

I fix things all the time. Every time I do a solo, I re-check it and correct things that don't hit the mark.

I think that there are a lot of great studio people but the fewer voices in my head when I'm getting out a draft, the better. I just get it out and then I'll listen to all manner of good ideas. And that's what happens, too, when I'm touring and doing a character on stage.

The only way to win a race is to run alone.

I'd like to play for you one of my compositions, my only composition.

Hey, look at this guy Kenny G. with his thing, walking up and down the aisles of the concert hall and running off the stage and playing the same time. It's old hat!

I think standup is pretty good for an introvert because you are performing, but, I mean, it's on your own terms. There are so many people in the room, but it's a one-sided conversation. And you actually don't have to interact - unless you want to.

I really enjoy playing solo acoustic. I think it's good for me as a songwriter to stay in touch with what it takes to make a song work by yourself.

From a technical viewpoint, I have certain things I'd like to present in my solos. To do this, I have to get the right material. It has to swing, and it has to be varied.

I've been doing that song ["Live Wire"] on my own for years, so no, I'm not worried about [high notes] at all.

You know, honestly, acting in film is remarkably independent. You're doing your thing and someone else is doing their thing.

Obviously I still gig on my own, but I've always heard my music with a band.