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" You know, there's times when you should play and there's times when you gotta hold back. "
Steve Vai
You
Gotta
Hold
Related Quotes:
" I don't believe in 'greatest'. I believe in favorites. "
Steve Vai
Greatest
Believe
Favorites
" When I was young, I wasn't a misfit or anything. I had friends in all the different social groups. But I had issues - just personal issues, insecurities and other things that had happened in my life. "
Steve Vai
My Life
Young
Friends
" Ray and I do not draw salaries, Any profits will be re-invested into marketing the music we believe in. "
Steve Vai
Will
Believe
Marketing
" Reps once took chances on art, History's most treasured musicians were believed in and cultivated to reach their potential. Today, it would be difficult for those musicians to get deals. "
Steve Vai
Art
Today
Reach
" I can tell you this: I'm an extremely passionate individual. I try to be careful how I display it because you never know how people are going to take it. "
Steve Vai
I Can
You
People
" I know it is common nowadays for artists to start labels but this is a thoroughly constructed vehicle for inspired talent. This is a market that we've been living, breathing and eating for our entire lives - one where a huge void currently exists. Favored Nations is a long-term commitment. "
Steve Vai
Commitment
Start
Know
" I was a kid, 12 or something, when the Partridge Family was big on TV. I liked the curly cord running from the bass to the amps, which were real fancy. That cord looked so cool. I said, 'Wow! I gotta play something like that!' "
Steve Vai
Kid
Cool
Said
" It's hilarious, because my guitar has what's known as a tremolo bar or a whammy bar. And the whammy bar is probably the most alien thing on my guitar that could possibly relate to a classical guitar. "
Steve Vai
Because
Bar
Alien
" I have an independent record label called Favored Nations on which I released an album by an artist called Johnny A, who plays an arch top Gibson through a Marshall, but the tone is all in his fingers. "
Steve Vai
Independent
Artist
Top
" When you get down to it, the way that the music affects you individually is the most important thing, and when you let things like the location of a band get in the way or have an effect on your overview, you're cheating yourself out of a really good time. "
Steve Vai
Music
Cheating
Good
" I have a deep love for life and my fellow human beings. I try to understand everything that everybody does, even if it seems wrong to me. "
Steve Vai
Me
Understand
Deep
" My past is very interesting, and I treasure it, but to write about it, it's just not on my radar. "
Steve Vai
Write
Past
Just
" I awake, I meditate, get the kids off to school, go to the gym, go to the Favored Nations office, and usually at around 1 pm I'm home and do music the rest of the day. "
Steve Vai
Gym
Music
Rest
" I loved the idea of recording. The idea of sound-on-sound-recording captured me as a young kid, and once I realized what it was I had an epiphany. Before I was even playing the guitar, I would create these lists of how I would record things and overdub them, like Led Zeppelin song, 'I could put this guitar on this track...' and so on. "
Steve Vai
Me
Young
Song
" I've always considered transcribing to be an invaluable tool in the development of one's musical ear and, over the years, I have spent countless glorious hours transcribing different kinds of music, either guitar-oriented or not. "
Steve Vai
Over
Always
Years
" What I look for in music is artistry, sincerity, and simplicity, and Tom Waits has all of that. I want to make a connection to the creator. "
Steve Vai
Simplicity
Look
Music
" The only time I'm miserable is when I can't keep an instrument in tune. "
Steve Vai
Instrument
Miserable
Only
" I've been approached many times to write all sorts of books about my past and my personal life. I get interest from people who want to do reality shows, and somebody just offered me a huge amount of money to write my spiritual memoirs. I'm just not interested. "
Steve Vai
Life
Me
Money
" I was about seven or eight years old when I first heard West Side Story, and it had a huge impact on me. If you look at the elements of that record, it contains many of the things I enjoy doing today. "
Steve Vai
Today
Story
Me
" All musicians practice ear training constantly, whether or not they are cognizant of it. If, when listening to a piece of music, a musician is envisioning how to play it or is trying to play along, that musician is using his or her 'ear' - the understanding and recognition of musical elements - for guidance. "
Steve Vai
Music
Listening
Training
" A lot of those little things that I really like doing are just moments of cool articulation, just little moments of phrasing that probably go over everybody's head. "
Steve Vai
Moments
Little Things
Go
" I can count on one hand the people who are legendary in my book, and Tom Waits is certainly right at the top. It's funny, though: When I tell people that I like Tom's music, it surprises them. "
Steve Vai
I Can
Book
Right
" I'm a big fan of cultural music, and that's how I try to expand my playing, by listening to music that is not conventionally American. "
Steve Vai
American
Listening
Music
" I've never really heard anybody imitating anything of mine the way they do with Edward Van Halen's stuff. "
Steve Vai
Heard
Way
Anything
" It just happens in life, where you resonate with a particular artist. Or it can be a kind of food or a fashion - you discover it and it gives you a whole new lease on life. "
Steve Vai
Life
You
Artist
" Most people are fascinated to see someone play an instrument in an inspired way. We are moved by witnessing musical brilliance, and it was this notion that led me to purchase the GuitarTV domain 10 years ago. "
Steve Vai
Someone
Way
Me
" I think every artist subconsciously wants to evolve themselves. Sometimes they get stuck in ruts because of pop culture, peer pressure, stuff like that. But what excites me most is exploring my own musical insights and expanding upon them. "
Steve Vai
Artist
Pressure
Think
" Possessing a healthy imagination is a necessary ingredient for creativity. "
Steve Vai
Creativity
Imagination
Healthy
" If I remain true to what's in my heart, that's all the success I need. "
Steve Vai
Success
Need
Remain
" I wanted to be a composer before anything else. And my sister was listening to Led Zeppelin in the other room! When I heard that, it was a game-changer. "
Steve Vai
Room
Before
Heard