some good quotes by famous musicians:" All I try to do is write music that feels meaningful to me...that has committment and passion behind it, and i guess I feel that if what i'm writing is real, and if there's emotion, then hey, there'll be somebody who wants to hear it." --- Bruce Springsteen........"Those first five or six songs I wrote, I was just taking notes at a fantastic rock concert that was going on in my head, and once I had written the songs, I had to sing them." -- Jim Morrison (The Doors)............" You should take into account when you write a song- it should be fun to play. When you write a song that's a chore to play, the performances never sound anything but strained." -- Jerry Garcia (grateful Dead)............." A great song is more than just words and music. It's like a thumb pressing against the pulse of living that relates a simple truth about a very complicated process." -- Jimmy Buffet (american musician)..............." To me the success of any truly great rock song is related to the fact that people who couldn't really communicate in normal ways can quite easily communicate through the mutual enjoyment of rock music." -- Pete Townshend (the Who).............." I think pure rock and roll, good rock and roll, has the same thing that anything that's pure has- and that's honesty... Unthinking. Primal honesty."-- Paul Stanley (Kiss)..............." I don't want audiences to feel a specific thing- I just want audiences to feel." -- Paul Simon (american musician).................." I can't stand to sing the same song the same way two nights in succession. If you can- then it ain't music." -- Billie Holiday (american vocalist)............. "After silence, that which comes nearest to expressing the in-expressable... is music." -- Aldous Huxley (english writer).................." My music will go on forever. Maybe it's a fool say dat, but when me know facts, me can say facts. My music go on forever." -- Bob Marley.................."in the end I think of music as saving grace for all humanity." -- Henry Miller (american writer)......................."The reason music is so powerful, is because it is the universal spiritual language. For all time man and God have spoken various different dialects, but music is understood by all. God created music, but the devil was also the angel of music, i believe this is why music can be used for good or bad to move us in different directions, and why it is such a neccessary force in spiritual warfare." -- original composition
anybody that has integrity and truth mixed in to their personality... i detest liars. , i would also like to meet any musicians and/or artists that are inspired by my music or inspire others with their art., and in general i can usually find something interesting about anyone i come across... so, the door's open :)
ok...where to begin, SOUNDGARDEN (sounds like a good place) since i believe them to be the best rock band of all time!! and can proudly dub myself a SOUNDGARDEN junkie. seattle grunge bands were the peak of the new classic rock and roll, pearl jam, alice in chains, also, PHISH absolutely changed the way i experienced music, dave matthews is ok but have mellowed out, stone temple pilots, chili peppers, jerry cantrell, dave navarro, SEVENDUST!!, dark new day, umphreys mcgee, THE MOTET, pink floyd, zepplin, cream, billie holiday, ray charles, billy cobham, primus, audioslave, rage against the machine, snoop dogg, jurassic 5, sarah mcglaughlin, fiona apple, coldplay, days of the new, perfect circle, TOOL, radiohead, counting crows, long beach dub all-stars, sublime, peter gabriel, stevie wonder, prince, and white heart to name a few off the top of my head. MANY MANY musicians have inspired me and contributed to my life. i also like my own music (currently with the mystery fellowship) check it out: www.themysteryfellowship.com ,some of my favorite drummers are MATT CAMERON, DANNY CAREY, CARTER BEAUFORD, ?QUESTLOVE?, DAVE WATTS, JOSH FREESE, BILLY COBHAM, and many others. i love all music (as generic as that sounds) but as a musician, if you're going to speak the universal language, you have to be open to all interpretations of it.
THE COUNT OF MONTE CRISTO (also an amazing book)- this story is eerily similar to some of the events in my life and it inspires me everytime i see it, FIGHT CLUB (of course), GREEN MILE and generally stephen king movies, THE SHINING (also a good book quite different than the movie), DONNIE BRASCO and anything with johnny depp in it, MEET JOE BLACK, AMERICAN HISTORY X, ROUNDERS (anything with edward norton in it right?, WHAT DREAMS MAY COME (cry everytime i see that one), HERO, DIRTY ROTTEN SCOUNDRELS, DUMB AND DUMBER (anything with Jim Carrey), CALLE 54, BATMAN, A RIVER RUNS THROUGH IT, LEGENDS OF THE FALL, THE GHOST IN THE DARKNESS (one of my all time favorites cause it's a true story about lions), MATING HABITS OF THE EARTHBOUND HUMAN, MINORITY REPORT, HUMAN NATURE, SHAWSHANK REDEMPTION, and many more. i am a movie buff.
don't watch much tv. in fact, just got cable for the first time in 3 years because it came included with my house. mostly think tv is a huge waste of time except for discovery channel, animal planet and so forth, history channel (things that actually have substance), SIMPSONS!!!, robot chicken, dave chappelle show, Mr. Show, 90's SNL are a few funny things i like.
the BIBLE, vast amounts of truth in there and a lamp unto my feet. reading the BIBLE has taught me more about myself and our Lord JESUS CHRIST than any one person could have. i found that reading and interpreting it for myself has given me a freedom i never found in church. I Samuel 16:7 "The LORD does not look at the things man looks at. Man looks at the outward appearence, but the LORD looks at the heart." (this scripture is incredibly meaningful to me because it says in one sentence that God looks at our heart (interior motivations and desire) in everything we are or do. this gives me a freedom from letting what people think of me or my walk with JESUS ever come between me and my Creator who is not there to judge and punish me, but to love and accept us as we are. HE made me and knows me better than any person could and in the end, it comes down to HIM and me in the regard of how i lived my life.), The count of Monte Cristo, The Shining, My Utmost for His Highest, The 5 Love Languages, Modern Drummer, and some others. I am often too busy to read much except the BIBLE and maybe some science or music magazines.
JESUS CHRIST who has given me meaning and purpose in my life as well as blessed me with my daughter and many talents, my family (dad, mom, brother and sisters who all have inspired and supported me), my grandma Vanis who is the most shining example of caring for others, unselfishness, generosity and walking in God's will that i have ever seen, matt cameron (who influenced my drumming technique and style immensely), PHISH, who changed the way i thought about music...talk about real rock n roll... and others.