I came from a classical background, and I was teaching and earning a living out of music at a certain level, so it's funny to make it as a rock star when we're 40 or whatever. 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 butterflyrocksthinking 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 importantenergypeople 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 nicesonginteresting 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 selfwantplay 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 styleexamplepeople 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 spacelisteningbeautiful 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 rocksemotionalsong American politics are important because it affects the entire world in often negative ways. Bryce Dessner importantnegativeworld A great painting is something that you can come back to again and again. Bryce Dessner again-and-againpainting As much as you try to organize your life, life will surprise you. Bryce Dessner willyousurpriselife I studied classical guitar in school, and that type of stuff has led to writing for Kronos. Bryce Dessner guitarstuffwritingschool 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 sisterdancerelationshiplong 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 musiciansbestimportanttime Part of what I enjoy about writing classical music is communicating through the score and collaborating with such amazing musicians. Bryce Dessner amazingenjoymusicwriting We've played in places where there were more of us onstage than in the audience. Bryce Dessner placesusmoreaudience I like to write on tour busses and airplanes. Something about moving. Bryce Dessner toursomethinglikemoving 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 greatmefriendsmusic 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 youmusicculturepast 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 thinktogethersometimespeople 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 deadexpectcrazyworld
