We tune differently, and we use some tricks. There's just the two of us for much of a concert, so we want a big sound. We do use some guitar effects, distortion and delay. Playing cello with distortion sounds so good.
When it comes to vibrato, a lot of people look at their hands when they do it. Which is pretty much of no use. Because vibrato is one of those things you have to hear. There are some guitar things where the visual is really useful, like seeing chord shapes or scale patterns. But vibrato isn't one of those things.
I played tennis. My older brother, Joseph, was a cello player, and I played the cello, but he was better than me at the cello, and he was also a better tennis player than me, so I was always like, 'I wish there was something that only I did!'
I was surprised I won the award because I've always been a very aggressive player and I earn my share of fouls on the court. I play rough, and because I'm an older player, of course I use tricks on the younger players.
I started to play noise on my cello because I felt a deep personal connection to it. I mean, I still love all the beautiful sounds of the cello as much as anybody but it's only when I play certain sounds I know that the cello really presents who I am; not my emotions but who I am as a person.
I have a few tricks and dribbles which I use a lot and when I am playing well, it is natural that they become easier. But the tricks I use are the ones that will hopefully benefit the team. What I do as an individual player is only important if it helps the team to win. That is the most important thing.
My hands look like my dad's and my mom's put together. She's a piano player, he was an artist, and I use the creative qualities I got from them in my fighting. But I don't just destroy with my hands; I also create: I cook and make art and garden.
We were just amazed we were putting out a record. We were, and are, still learning. But we've never cared much for professionalism as long as the energy was there. Like our live shows: We're out of tune and use a lot of feedback. That's not on purpose or because we don't care, we're just musically and rhythmically retarded and we play so hard that we can't tune our guitars fast enough.
My favorite player growing up was Julius Erving, because I loved the way he played above the rim, all of the tricks with the ball, big hands, and just phenomenal showmanship.
We wanted to make a powerful cello sound in order to show to the world the possibilities of the cello and to use it in a different way than the classical way they are used to. We wanted to play something exciting, something crazy, something to draw younger generations to this great instrument.
I guess I'm interested in pushing the boundaries of the cello without giving up on the idea of playing the cello, if that makes any sense. I have no real interest in putting the cello through different effects to make it sound like a guitar or other instruments.
My vibrato was my weakness. With romantic pieces, I could be a lot more schmaltzy. My wider vibrato fit that.
I keep saying if I ever get a good amount of quiet time that I want to learn to play cello. It's a very warm instrument. The tone of the cello and the movement - I don't know what is; I love it so much.
TV is tricky. You can do some stuff and people will tune out and never tune back in. It's sort of like putting a bad taste in somebody's mouth. Some people may not ever tune in again. And then there's some people that will tune in just to tune in and see what's gon' happen.
We knew we wanted to have our own tone for the show. And then the big instrument that actually we came up with was the cello. It has a big range. It can play really low. It can play high. And it has a dark sound, and 'Game Of Thrones' is obviously - it's a dark show, and the cello became the featured instrument.
Ain't it just like the night to play tricks when you're tryin' to be so quiet?