We've played in places where there were more of us onstage than in the audience. Bryce Dessner More Quotes by Bryce Dessner More Quotes From Bryce Dessner For years The National has been labeled as a gloomy kind of rock bandI think mostly because of Matt’s deep baritone voice, which even if he is singing about unicorns and butterflies, he just sounds sad most of the time. Bryce Dessner butterfly rocks thinking It’s important to me that people hear my music on its own merit and not in relation to another project I’ve done. Ultimately, the music has its own energy and message and stands on its own. Bryce Dessner important energy people A good song is a nice set of chords and some good lyrics; a great song is a song that reinvents itself over time. That you can always find something interesting in the more you listen to it - it keeps revealing something to you. Bryce Dessner nice song interesting Most of my favourite guitarists are self-taught, because in a way there's less of a reverence for the instrument itself, so you end up finding and inventing however you want to play it. Bryce Dessner self want play There are famous examples of people who just had really strange ways - [Jimi] Hendrix being the biggest example of that. Or someone like Keith Richards, he just has a really idiosyncratic style. Bryce Dessner style example people Obviously there are pieces of classical music that are some of the most beautiful music ever written, for me anyway is a lot of classical or contemporary music, so it's a different kind of space that you enter when you're listening to it. Bryce Dessner space listening beautiful In a way it's the emotional feeling that you get in a good rock song or folk song, there's just nothing that rivals that. Bryce Dessner rocks emotional song American politics are important because it affects the entire world in often negative ways. Bryce Dessner important negative world A great painting is something that you can come back to again and again. Bryce Dessner again-and-again painting As much as you try to organize your life, life will surprise you. Bryce Dessner will you surprise life I studied classical guitar in school, and that type of stuff has led to writing for Kronos. Bryce Dessner guitar stuff writing school I grew up going to see my sister dance, both at the ballet and later as a modern dancer, and have always been a big fan of the ballet. So I have had a long relationship with dance. Bryce Dessner sister dance relationship long When working with classical musicians, it is important to be clear as possible in the score about what my intentions are. Because there isn't a lot of rehearsal time, especially at the ballet, it's best if everything is written in the score. Bryce Dessner musicians best important time Part of what I enjoy about writing classical music is communicating through the score and collaborating with such amazing musicians. Bryce Dessner amazing enjoy music writing I like to write on tour busses and airplanes. Something about moving. Bryce Dessner tour something like moving For me, the exhausting thing about touring is the sitting around, which is why working on my concert music is really great - and also seeing concerts and seeing friends and, whenever possible, getting out to see a museum. Bryce Dessner great me friends music For a composer of concert music, 40 is actually very young. But for a rock musician, 40 is almost past due, where you think of rock music as really part of more youth-oriented culture. Bryce Dessner you music culture past Typically, people think, 'Oh the hippies and the punks hated each other,' or that those things don't go together musically. Sometimes that is true, but we had equal parts of both in our musical DNA. Bryce Dessner think together sometimes people There are all kind of corners of the musical world that are deeply influenced by the Dead that one wouldn't expect. Lee Ranaldo is a crazy Deadhead. Bryce Dessner dead expect crazy world I've got this diverse education, growing up in classical music and existing between that and music that is more visceral, so for sure, I've always been interested in music from other cultures. Bryce Dessner always growing-up music education
