The simple act of sitting down and playing something enormously complex and spiritually uplifting on a harpsichord just bores kids to tears. There's no sizzle, there's no grab. But it's the great lesson of serious music, that it invites you to listen, rather than demands that you listen.
Things have changed so much. People walked away from a simple life we had in the '20s and '30s, and I am glad that I am able to touch that period in our lives with the shows that I do and with the music that I do.
I love dive bars, old movie theaters, live music and good food. The simplest things in life for me are the most important.
Music is a simulation of something, but language is the greatest thing we possess.
I've made three studio albums and one live one with my brother. It's melodic singer-songwriter acoustic-rock music.
I took lessons since I was little; I used to pay for my own singing lessons and take myself. Just take the bus when I was a kid and go. But I'd been writing music for years, since the smallest age.
I wanted to start doing more music, doing more things than just playing guitar. I started taking singing lessons and piano lessons. I need to learn more things, to be an artist or whatever, and then transfer that back into writing songs.
I want to make the music that's not there anymore. I'm so passionate about the singing voice... What I'm trying to do actually with my album is show that it's my voice that's leading. It's my voice that's the instrument.
I love to listen to pop music and I admire people who do that, but I don't think I would ever be a very good pop star. I always leave that singing voice for the shower! I wouldn't put it out in the world!
My mom is a painter and an artist. She would play music, and she always had very good taste in music, fashion, and art. She was also a young single mom, so I think she had really good style; she was really free... just really inspiring in her own way and allowed me to find the direction I wanted to take in my life.
Music is for every single person that walks the planet.
Every single person in my life and every relationship I have is distant because all I do is music.
When the audience resonates with my music and sings every single word from the song, the high of performing live is unmatched.
On many different singles, I was able to marry my music with rappers who understood the natural bond between us.
You don't necessarily pick the singles that you want when you're making a record, but for the most part it's the same process. You're the artist - you make the music that you want to make.
Music changes so fast, and we're in a singles market.
There's no such thing as 'sissy bounce.' We don't separate it here in New Orleans at all. It's just bounce music. Just because I'm a gay artist, they don't have to put it in a category or label it.
Punk rock and skateboarding took the 'school' out of living your life, and I related to learning as I went, doing a lot of different things that I liked, when I liked. Consequently, I'm mediocre at all of the above, but still stoked on being a lifetime student of music, skating, painting, writing, etc.
I actually prefer soothing music - and maybe that's the skater in me.
One of my favorite things about sketch comedy is doing parodies and music videos.
