I pretty much spent my twenties as a musician and taking acting classes. I loved it. I was at UCLA getting As and Bs in English and creative writing, basically trying to stay out of the Army. All I really wanted to do was play music.
All my life I only wanted to write and play music, but it took a long time to make a go of it, and I was one of the lucky ones!
When I put Foster The People together, I just wanted to play music with friends.
We’re just nerds that play music. Because we get played on the radio and have a Vitaminwater ad with Aaron Paul dancing on a treadmill, people are going to say we sold out. I don’t write music for that. I write music for me.
When I’m on the road I get to read, play golf and do what I love to do – play music. Not a bad life.
The majority of the high schools and the public schools in N.Y.C. don’t even have band programs. Hip-hop in a lot of ways is an outgrowth of a lack of instruments and a desire to play music, so we can’t really fault the kids for that.
All I do is play music and golf – which one do you want me to give up?
In college, I faced an interesting problem. I wanted to play music all the time and yet I wasn’t ready for anyone to hear it. To remedy this, I took to retreating to stairwells as a safe place to sing and write music. It was there that I wrote most of my songs in college and really grew into an artist.
Literally everything I do is either write songs and play music, or I’m immersed in my domestic life.
I think if you’re a painter, you paint; if you’re a golfer, you golf; if you’re a fisherman, you fish; if you’re a musician, you play music.
My whole thing is having the perfect balance. Let’s say I go to school. I have a day at school. That’s the perfect amount of reality. Then I go and play music with my band. Then I go home and hang out with my family and my pets. I think that’s the perfect amount of reality time.
Before starting my YouTube career, I used to play music at a restaurant. YouTube was never a part of my plan.
I always play music at home, every day I grab a guitar and start riffing.
I play music all the time because silence freaks me out.
I’ve been traveling around to play music since before I even had a driver’s license.
Pearl Jam’s ‘Alive’ is the reason I started to play music.
My goal was to play 350-capacity rooms in the U.K. and, if I was lucky, 100-capacity rooms in Europe. I just wanted to play music and make money off it.
I’ve played guitar and piano for a while, so it’s really fun to play music on film.
If I had a free afternoon, I would play music, sit in my backyard, and drink coffee.
Typing with your fingers or thumbs is sooooo 2012. I tweeted that earlier in the year. I type with my eyes. Not only that, I navigate my computer, create and play music, keep a calendar, conference call, lead web X meetings, text and, obviously, tweet with my eyes.
I had a few DJs in my neighbourhood that would play music in the streets. There was no hip-hop yet; there were just DJs that were playing disco, funk, and pop music, and we would gather round, go to the parks, and dance and enjoy ourselves.
I play music from Queen, to Elton John, to classic.
I just wanted to say one more thing: I also think that when you go to play music, you’re there to play music.
Starting out really punk came from not knowing any better and listening to music like that, not knowing how to play music – well, still not knowing how to play music.
I have done nothing my entire life but play music.
I definitely see myself as an international musician. When I play, I respect the source of the music, whether it’s Cuban, Brazilian or Israeli. I try to bring that to all of the music I play. Music has no borders and no flags.
After Sleater-Kinney broke up in 2006 I had very little desire to play music. It took well over three years before picking up a guitar meant anything to me other than an exercise.
The kids that are making the ghetto stuff I can’t even reach are the ones that are inspiring me to play music for the other kids in the city they don’t even know about. If I don’t get those kids making music, there won’t be an original kid DJing like me in five to 10 years.
Man, failure was not an option whatsoever, ’cause I’m here to play music – that’s what I’ve been put on earth for.
When I signed that major-label contract when I was 20 years old. I did it because I wanted to play music for the rest of my life. That’s every 20-year-old’s dream – to do whatever the hell you want.
What part of people is resistant to an artist doing more than one thing? Is it somehow perceived as greedy? Anyone who has that weird volition to become an actor probably has a weird volition to do lots of other creative things – to write, to play music, to paint, to cook.
In my home, I listen to music; I play music: I play guitar and I play ukelele. And I swim and I ride a bike and I do all the things that everybody else does.
Oh yeah, it’s great see music and to play music in small places. And it’s really fun for me to play here because, you know, I played two feet from people all night. And after all those years, it’s great to be able to talk to folks.
I play music, I paint – these things come from your depths.
Whatever I’ve got going on, I play music to accompany me.
I love working and writing new songs. But sometimes you need to wait, to have something in your mind, and then you can let yourself play music.
Why do we have a brain in the first place? Not to write books, articles, or plays; not to do science or play music. Brains develop because they are an expedient way of managing life in a body.
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.
I used to not really know any other people when I was young that wanted to play music – that’s why I learned everything myself. As a result, you kind of naturally become an engineer of sorts, because you’ve got to learn how to record everything.
I play music a lot but on my own mostly, so it was nice to be around other people. There was a certain sense a relief in the physical act of just playing and being with other musicians.
What I want to do, is play music for somebody who believe in me.
I started to play music again because of my dad and my mom. I grew up playing guitar with my dad, and he and my mom encouraged me to start again.
We do it because we love to play music and that’s what we’re all about.
I play music for people all over the world. It’s a huge privilege.
I love making music, and I love touring. I love that I get to wake up and play music. I don’t like being away from my wife and kids.
Musicians play music because you love… I loved to play drums since I was five. It’s all I ever wanted to do. Rock stars, or as we call them, posers, guys who want to just look great, dress great. They’re not musicians; they’re looking for the fame.
I want to play music when I want, write a song if I want or watch a baseball game if I want.
I just play music by listening and responding, so I don’t know anything about writing songs or arranging and all of this stuff. You know, it’s in my head, but I don’t know how to get it out.
I used to play music at home, and now I’m playing for thousands of people.
I want to go out, play music and have a good time.
It was strange: I never had an interest in school because from an early age I knew the only thing I wanted to do was to play music! So I didn’t feel so bad not going into school when I was supposed to be there – why do I need Latin, geography, physical education, etc., and to get beaten on a daily basis?
I love to play my music. That’s what my heart wants me to do is to play music, and I love doing that when I got my band and my crew and all those folks with me, and that whole thing cranks up; it’s really something to enjoy.
I just want to play music with a band, live.
I know how to read music, watching my mom and listening to Mom play music.
You know, there’re no rules between Russell and I. We don’t want to have to have to talk too much, because it’s really precious, really special to play music.
My whole thing is not just to play music for people, but to make them part of the evening.
A lot of musicians aren’t proud; they’ll do other work, just to be able to play music. I guess that’s the way it’s always going to be – musicians will have to suffer to a certain degree in order to obtain their outlet.
When I was a teenager, just about the only thing I could do right was play music. In my graduating class, I was certainly not voted ‘Most Literary Boy.’ I can assure you I was not voted ‘Mostly Likely to Succeed.’ I was voted ‘Most Musical Boy.’ And the music led to the poetry.
Not only was it enough to be a cover band, it was perhaps the highest calling. After all, if you could play music recorded by others, stay true to the original, and still add fire and flare, why not?
I hate restaurants that play music. You come out for a quiet meal, and you’re supposed to put up with all this booming. Why? It’s madness!
I play music on my phone to fall asleep when I’m on the road and as an alarm clock to wake me up, so I need it nearby – but there are never outlets by the bed in hotels!
