A Quote by Alan Bishop

Almost all the bars in Southeast Asia are lady bars. The listener and participants who interact and frequent the clubs are exclusively male who become actively involved with the ladies, not the music. Coming to them to listen only to the music is not what people do.
Gay bars in America aren't weird sex clubs. They're sanctuaries. I know so many straight friends that go to gay bars more than I ever do, male and female, because they can go there and be social and there's no expectation there. It's a safe place. It's almost like the real world version of Comic-Con in some places. You can go without judgment.
When we play an outdoor venue, you'll see whole families - boys, girls, men and women - from kids to grandparents who somehow heard the music... Think about how hard it is for artists who can never get a gig at an all-ages gig. Who goes to hear music in bars? People who can get into bars; people who drink.
The thing I realised about composition is, we remember most composers for four bars of music. Four singable bars of music. Pretty much any major composer from Debussy to Ravel to Mozart to whoever else - you can kind of hum it.
We went from candy bars, to handle bars, to hangin' in bars, to being behind bars
But recently I began to feel that maybe I wouldn't be able to do what I want to do and need to do with American musicians, who are imprisoned behind these bars; music's got these bars and measures you know.
I think of the pop music that I've made in the past and hear on the radio as candy bars. And I was really good at making candy bars.
Music is the reason I started talking to people. When I started singing in bars and trains, I began to learn the behaviour of people. Music was the bait that helped me get something from them and give myself to them.
The only reason people go to bars is to get drunk and have sex. To me, bars are what hell is like.
So I came home and I had a resume and everything, but the only job experience I had was just playing in bars and clubs on my summers off. So, I was temping and stuff during the day and playing music at night.
Looking back, we had the hard time, but the privilege, of actually coming up playing biker bars and little bitty college bars.
I always love to put hidden messages in my music videos, because I know there are people like me who, when they watch something, are really active, involved participants. I'm not usually a really passive listener or observer. So I do put those messages in there for people who spend a great deal of time [looking for them].
I sense a real difference in my work from the time I was younger and single and more involved in the world of music and going out to bars and all that. There were points at which I was trying to use my art to reflect positively on myself, to almost be flirtatious through the work.
The boys know they're from Southeast Asia, and they have their food and their music and their friends, and they have a pride particular to them.
With the audience, I always say it's about giving the people an experience. And what the experience is about, it transcends just the music, and genre, and the venue. It's about the people coming together to share a profound and transformative moment. So that means the listener is actively engaged, and the listener is a part of the show, they're a part of the experience.
At my school, which was all boys, I played almost exclusively lady parts. When I say lady parts, I mean parts that were ladies. To actually play lady parts would be weird, even by English standards.
Playing in those bars where people really don't care about your music really gives you an appreciation for when you get to a concert, and people are singing your original music - it's been a great journey, but I definitely didn't have an interest in music as a kid until I was a teenager.
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