In a place like the Greek Theater in L.A., to try and create a close connection with the audience seems almost antithetical to the architecture of the building. Alex Ebert More Quotes by Alex Ebert More Quotes From Alex Ebert Politics, poverty, riches, etc - these are but backdrops for the grand cinema, the opera: the glory of your life. Sure, change the backdrops, make them better, but it is this inside-ness that matters most. Nothing else, at the last breath, matters, but your very own poetry. The glory of living. Alex Ebert opera cinema matter Even the most deft pen is a clumsy tool. Alex Ebert pens clumsy tools Sometimes, I have to really monitor myself, but the only monitoring job I really do on myself on stage is, Is this truthful? Is this truthful? Is this truthful? Ideally, I send it in a flow of truth. Alex Ebert truthful flow jobs I think that when you're open, you're at your most powerful. Alex Ebert most-powerful powerful thinking When you're in pain, you're genuinely very, very alive, and that's beautiful. Especially emotional pain. Alex Ebert emotional pain beautiful Sometimes I'm really communicating with the audience and I'm hyper-engaged. Other times my eyes are closed and I just let it be what it is. Alex Ebert communicate eye sometimes Unless you are in the willingness and ease and ecstasy of some kind of moment, you may end up the editor of your thoughts and of your expressions. I find I'm that way on stage. Alex Ebert editors expression way I get very heated about anything that is socially unkind. Alex Ebert unkind I don't want an angry song with no silver lining ending up on my album. Then I'd have to play, or feel obliged to play, that song every night in repetition as a mantra of anger. Alex Ebert play song night The main thing that I've learned, artistically, is that if I'm in pain and feeling the budding of anger - if I absolutely feel like I need to write a song about it, I'll either need to transform that anger into something positive, or I'll just need to throw the song away. Because eventually, I'm going to want to transcend that pain and that anger. Alex Ebert pain writing song Physical pain is problematic because it's very difficult to transcend that. Sometimes you're just in physical pain, and that's a bummer. Even then, there are beautiful things involved in the healing of that. I've experienced some. Alex Ebert pain healing beautiful For me, it's very childish to tour on a train. And I think that's a powerful quality, to inspire childishness. Alex Ebert powerful inspire thinking To me, what I define as defiance, in some ways, is knowing the "reality" and having the ability to possess a realist mindstate yet still working towards the fantasy and still being childish. While still having the understanding and capacity that would generally inspire pessimism: some sort of more realist perspective that I think most people classify as adult. Anything like that and anything that's sort of fun. Alex Ebert fun reality thinking I think fun is one of the best gifts we can give to each other. If everyone was having fun we'd be in good shape. Alex Ebert fun giving thinking When you're comfortable, you're not necessarily inclined to care about things that are contributing to your comfort. It's difficult. Alex Ebert difficult care comfort My pain is usually caused by some sort of attack on my ego. So usually, pain is an indication of something that, eventually, I'm going to want to transcend. But sometimes pain is just pain that you sit through. I find it can have a really exhilarating effect. Alex Ebert ego pain want What gets me pretty pissed off is the whole Monsanto engineered foods issue. Alex Ebert monsanto pissed-off issues Recording music is not really the healthiest thing for the body. Alex Ebert recording-music music-is body I'm really into the basic idea of Kriya Yoga. The breathing that goes on in Kriya. Other than that, it's just communicating with the universe and getting the inspiration for different kinds of breath. Basically, I'm into the movement of breath and the shapes of breath. The different kinds of sequences of breath. I like doing that a lot. Alex Ebert breathing yoga inspiration I'm pretty freelance. A freelance meditator. I float from one thing to the other. Alex Ebert floats one-thing
