Words matter. These are the best Mark Knopfler Quotes, and they’re great for sharing with your friends.
I’m also getting an Ovation Legend, because I like them so much.
If you feel that you’re not getting enough out of a song, change the instrument – go from an acoustic to an electric or vice versa, or try an open tuning. Do something to shake it up.
I’m not a collector, however, and I have no desire to own 50 or 60 guitars.
I don’t know that I read more than the average person. I don’t think I do very much. I tend to read more when I’m on holiday. That’s when I can go through books like you wouldn’t believe. I read a bit of everything, but the novel has always been very important to me.
I canceled the Russian shows because, from the days of the first Dire Straits album, I’ve supported Amnesty International. It’s not a good thing to read about people being jailed for no reason, so I raised my hand and made a small objection. It was good to do – but where do you stop?
I love Gibsons, and Nationals, too. There’s something magical about them.
I even played bass for a while. Besides playing electric guitar, I’d also get asked to play some acoustic stuff. But, since I didn’t have an acoustic guitar at the time, I used to borrow one from a friend so I could play folk joints.
For me, songwriting is really where it’s at. I turn to use the guitar just to help me write the songs. That’s it. As a result, my guitar playing suffers pretty horribly.
What I always try to do is to respond to the song; I’ve always rebelled against theory.
Whenever a political regime or religious establishment refuses to tolerate criticism, it advertises itself as repressive, backward, and insecure.
I don’t know whether your heart ever necessarily changes, but time changes the way that you perceive the world. And you just hope it gives you more empathy and all those other things.
I was into playing American music, especially the blues.
After a while, though, the group just wasn’t a good vehicle for the songs I’d written.
My idea of heaven is a place where the Tyne meets the Delta, where folk music meets the blues.
The music just tends to be a vehicle for that poetry.
There happened to be guitar classes at the college, and there was a guitar teacher there with whom I used to play. In addition, I also would go out into country schools and teach little kids basic guitar and singing a few times a week.
Each song has its own secret that’s different from another song, and each has its own life. Sometimes it has to be teased out, whereas other times it might come fast. There are no laws about songwriting or producing. It depends on what you’re doing, not just who you’re doing.
Instead of receding, the past actually becomes more important. That’s what will happen to you. It sounds unlikely, but the past actually changes complexion as you get older.
I actually spend as much time listening to new music as to old. Probably more. I just try to get something out of it all.
While listening, to things like western swing, for instance, I’d work something out in my head, then play it on my National; not the same song, but one that captured the feeling of the original tune.
The ‘music industry’ is not a term I use. I tend to concentrate on music, and the music business is something different.
If you’re thinking the road ahead is a little shorter than the one behind you, you’re thinking about trying to write a good song and hoping to make a decent record of it.
