A band can define their own success. Adam Schlesinger More Quotes by Adam Schlesinger More Quotes From Adam Schlesinger I don't know if there was really ever a golden age of the music business. Most of what was released has always been garbage and some has been able to get through and last. I don't know that it was much better thirty years ago. The music industry just wasn't as efficient. The music industry was more oddball guys who did it for fun and now they are huge corporations that have become more structured. Adam Schlesinger guy fun years Yeah, Jody [Porter] left. He's a great guitar player. We have a guy named Phil Hurley who is going to go out on tour with us now. I'm not sure if he'll end up as the permanent guitar player, but he's the type of guy who can kind of step in and play anything. He was with the Gigolo Ants before, and he's really good. Adam Schlesinger guitar guy player I think ultimately what you really want is a few people within any label that are into the band enough to really work on it every day for a long time and to actually try a little bit. But obviously, the major labels have more money to spend, so if they feel like spending it, they have bigger resources there when you need them. It doesn't always necessarily translate into them doing a better job for a band, but I think especially if you're playing the game of commercial radio and making videos and stuff like that, that's sort of an expensive proposition. Adam Schlesinger games jobs thinking I like switching gears. I'm kind of a chameleon. Adam Schlesinger like chameleon gears kind I think when we were starting out, it was more about imitating our songwriting heroes. We would try to write songs like Neil Finn, or we would try to write songs like Ray Davies, or we would try to write songs like Glenn Tilbrook. Adam Schlesinger heroes try like think I don't ever feel like I'm being an actor. Adam Schlesinger actor feel being like One of the more surreal days I've ever had in the recording studio was Martin Fry teaching Hugh Grant his old dance moves. Showing him how to do the hair-flip and the point, and all these sort of trademark moves of his. Adam Schlesinger old more how dance I think people sometimes confuse 'catchy' with something that should automatically be a hit in today's world. I mean, obviously we write a lot of stuff that's catchy, that sticks in your head. But that doesn't necessarily mean that middle-school kids are going to want to listen to a song about a lawyer or a Subaru or whatever. Adam Schlesinger lawyer song today people I think in most cases, when you're writing a song, you're just making up a little story, and you're not really thinking about making a point one way or another about it. You're just coming up with a little scenario and seeing it through, and that's it. Adam Schlesinger think you song thinking I've never really had the desire to be a front person or a solo artist. I don't really create that much of a hierarchy in my mind. Adam Schlesinger person never artist mind I just like to stay busy, and I like to work with interesting people. Adam Schlesinger stay busy work people Making your own records is really satisfying in the sense that you more or less get to do what you want. It may not sell or whatever, but on an artistic level, the only people that you really have to fight with are the people in your own band. Adam Schlesinger your fight you people With Fountains of Wayne, after 'Stacy's Mom' happened, we started making a little bit more money and getting a little bit more known. Adam Schlesinger more happened money mom I had a job transcribing a biotechnology-litigation seminar. You put headphones on and fast-forward and stop with your feet. There were a lot of 'um's.' Adam Schlesinger stop job you feet In promotional mode, every day is a series of decisions. You can easily fill up your day with checklist stuff. Adam Schlesinger every-day your day you A song sometimes ends up with its own internal logic. Adam Schlesinger own logic song sometimes Most of your day is spent working, and being in a band is no different. We're just business travelers in a way. Adam Schlesinger your day business way Bands like R.E.M. and even The Replacements, during that initial wave of college rock, would sell 40, 50, 100,000 copies of a record, and that would be seen as extremely successful - and definitely enough to keep doing more. Adam Schlesinger rock doing college enough Every year, there's some band that plays guitar-oriented pop music that has a single, but for the most part, it's kind of relegated to the sidelines. Adam Schlesinger year single band music I usually start with a lyric and see where that takes me. Adam Schlesinger start where see me
