Glenn Fry on the Eagles

The Eagles were not pioneers.  The Eagles were settlers.  But I do believe that we did a pretty good job of cultivating the land that we settled.  We put ourselves into it and made it uniquely our own.

~ Glenn Fry, founding member of the rock band Eagles

(From "Linda Ronstadt and the Eagles," 14:30 mark)

Paramore on the denial phase of an unwinding bubble

I don't mind lettin' you down easy, but just give it time

If it don't hurt now, a-just wait, just wait a while

You're not the big fish in the pond no more

You are what they're feedin' on

Where you're from, you might be the one who's running things

Well, you could ring anybody's bell and get what you want

See, it's easy to ignore trouble

When you're living in a bubble

So what are you gonna do

When the world don't orbit around you?

So what are you gonna do

When nobody wants to fool with you?

Ain't it fun

Livin' in the real world?

Ain't it good

Bein' all alone?

~ Paramore, "Ain't It Fun" (2014)

Bill Walton on music

Music is critical in our lives and culture.  It's the inspiration that drives us.  It's also the window to our souls.  It's a reflection as to who we are, what we stand for and where we're going.

~ Bill Walton

Bill Walton on the Grateful Dead

The Grateful Dead, they're my best friends.  Their message of hope, peace, love, teamwork, creativity, imagination, celebration, the dance, the vision, the purpose, the passion - all of the things I believe in - makes me the luckiest Deadhead in the world.

~ Bill Walton

Jeffrey Evan Brooks on socialism

Socialism is like Neil Diamond music.  It's not good and belongs in the past, yet there's a group of people who think that it will eventually catch on if only they keep playing it.

~ Jeffrey Evan Brooks

Jimmy Buffett on business

If you're an artist, if you want to have control of your life... then you gotta be a businessman, like it or not.  So the businessman part evolved out of being an artist.

~ Jimmy Buffett, 1946-2023

Paul Jones on the Beatles debut on the Ed Sullivan Show (1964)

Why [Ed] Sullivan found it necessary to aid in the phony promotion of four rock 'n roll exponents, all of whom represent Moe of the Three Stooges, is beyond comprehension.  Any why he felt it necessary to "load" the theater with screaming teen-age girls when he normally restricts his audience to grownups, is also a mystery.

It was obvious to those who say the Beatles, four fellows from Great Britain, that they have not attained their present notoriety on the basis of their musical talents, for the sounds emanating from their mouths were anything but melodic.

Shorn of their mop-like hairdos they would look and sound like many other inferior rock 'n roll groups which are still attempting to keep alive the fad which died when Elvis Presley joined the armed forces.

~ Paul Jones, "Sullivan Wasted Time with Beatles," February 11, 1964

Christine McVie on writing music

Learn your instrument.  Be honest.  Don't do anything phony.  There is so much crap floating around.  There is plenty of room for a bit of honest writing.

~ Christine McVie, 1943-2022

Dusty Hill on his bass sound

It's like farting in a trash can.  Raw, big, heavy, and a bit distorted.

~ Dusty Hill, bass guitarist, ZZ Top

Dusty Hill
May 19, 1949 - July 28, 2021

Roger Waters on first playing The Dark Side of the Moon for his wife

When the record was finished I took a reel-to-reel copy home with me and I remember playing it for my wife then, and I remember her bursting into tears when it was finished.  And I thought, "This has obviously struck a chord somewhere," and I was kinda pleased by that.  You know when you've done something, certainly if you create a piece of music, you then hear it with fresh ears when you play it for somebody else.  And at that point I thought to myself, "Wow, this is a pretty complete piece of work," and I had every confidence that people would respond to it.

~ Roger Waters, Pink Floyd bassist, 2006 interview

Symphony violinist describes post-Covid concert dystopia

A symphony orchestra in the Midwest who shall remain unnamed recently rolled out their virus protocol for rehearsals and performances. A serology test upon arrival into town. Chairs separated by 6 ft, and the eradication of stand partners (any musician can tell you of the difficulty this deviation-from-the-norm causes). Absolutely no shifting around of any equipment or it must be re-measured and readjusted by the stage manager. And -- of course -- our issued N95 masks. Wind players are allowed to remove the mask when the instrument actually touches their lips...how benevolent. 

The kicker: The concert was performed outdoors in a baseball stadium to avoid all the dangers of the concert hall. Due to 20mph winds and rain, we performed only a Mozart overture before being sent home.

It was a rough weekend for an outspoken libertarian. Incensed, I returned to my hotel room after the first rehearsal and composed a 1000-word op-ed to the New York Times and a few other publications closer to my hometown of Kansas City. The self-explanatory title: "No, It's Not 'Better Than Not Playing.'" 

No one accepted my writing. Why would they? It doesn't suit the arts-world narrative of "mask up, stay safe, protect your fellow musicians." 

I am in incredible disbelief that virtually no one else in my industry is willing to speak out against this madness. It is crippling our livelihoods, and they ignore the root of the problem. 

Following this gig debacle, I have made the sad decision not to take another restricted playing opportunity until the hysteria has died down. Enough is enough. We're not making music anymore, we're following draconian orders -- usually mandated by some higher-up authority who clearly has no concept of how musical ensembles operate. 

I digress. Thank you for being an arts supporter. Thank you for speaking reason and balance and sanity into the void -- even if it doesn't reach as far as my statist compatriots in the orchestra field. 

Musically yours, 

A disgruntled symphony violinist

~ Email to Tom Woods, October 22, 2020

Eddie Van Halen on making mistakes

If you make a mistake, try to do it twice and smile.  Because that way people think you meant it.

~ Eddie Van Halen

Eddie Van Halen
1955-2020

London’s Decca Records: “The Beatles have no future in show business" (1962)

The Beatles have no future in show business... Groups are out; four-piece groups with guitars, particularly, are finished.

~ An executive at London’s Decca Records as he turned down the chance to sign the Liverpool group in 1962 before signing up Brian Poole and the Tremeloes instead