People say to me that I can't be nervous because I've had such a wealth of experience, but I tell them that I have never done this particular part before. ↗
When I'm on tour, I'm in a new city every single night, and the energy and the crowds and the kids and the screaming and them knowing every single word of my music and being onstage is such an energetic feeling with a big payoff. ↗
Living composers writing for big band are very few and far between. There are not a lot of them, and I have a talent for doing it. I am zeroing in on what I do best. ↗
Music makes us want to live. You don't know how many times people have told me that they'd been down and depressed and just wanted to die. But then a special song caught their ear and that helped give them renewed strength. That's the power music has. ↗
Suffering has roused them from the sleep of gentle life, and every day fills them with a terrible intoxication. They are now something more than themselves; those we loved were merely happy shadows. ↗
Adopted pets are the best pets you can have. Most adoptable pets come from loving homes that simply cannot care for them anymore. Or, they are strays who've been on their own without the loving care they deserve. ↗
Relationships, if you want them to work, take work. The biggest thing that I learned growing up, and even now, is if it's right, it's worth it. It's just a matter of finding that person you want to be with. ↗
