I think Bengalis would relate to my love for music more than anyone else, as for them, music is not just a hobby, not even a passion, but the way of life.
It's not love for music, it's a passion, and it goes beyond liking, and beyond a hobby, it's about a way of living... Music is essential for my life.
Music is not a hobby, not even a passion with me; music is me. I feel what people get out of me is this outlook on life, which comes out in my music. My music is the last expression of all that.
Music is more of a hobby to me than my hobbies, if that makes sense. I love music; my dad and brother were very musical, and music just happens to be one of my hobbies that became my vocation.
I think that ultimately, when you create music that is proper music, then it becomes fundamental and anyone can relate to it or connect to it. When done properly, the language doesn't really have anything to do with it. It's actually the music as a whole. When it is speaking truth, everyone can relate to that on a fundamental level.
You just have to love yourself and live and die with the passion of the music. I walk around happy as hell because I create music for a living. I can touch the world with my heart and my passion. Music has dominated life well before I was ever born.
Painting is just a hobby. I really don't think of it much more than that. But writing music and writing words... my life would feel as if it had a big hole if I took those away.
I don't necessarily do anything just for the money. I do it for the passion and I do it for the love, because I'm still hungry. So if I want to do music, it's not necessarily motivated because of monetary value. It's more about the passion and the love, and I think that's where music should come from, the heart, not necessarily just to cash a check.
At times, I think, 'What would I rather be doing than music?' That's what you have to ask yourself, if you feel like you need to be somewhere else... But there's nothing else I want to do more than music. That's why I stay in the booth.
My debut album, 'Forget the World,' is all about not listening to the negativity around you and to continue to do what you love, no matter what people think. I love what I do. Dance music is my passion, my life. There is no greater feeling than being one with my fans, partying to the music we love.
I think everything about it. Just the experience, but mainly performing live for people. I think if it wasn't for playing in front of audiences, I don't think that anyone would want to play music. That's where you get all your gratification. It's just something else to be up on stage, playing music that you wrote and having people enjoy it - and have it mean something to them also.
But I just love that music scene so much, and I enjoy really being around those artists and watching them even more than I do performing, because they are a whole group of people that do it because they love music.
Creating music to fit the marketplace, so that music can be heard? If ever I thought that I even came close to catering to the marketplace, or designing my productions and my music to cater to what is currently fashionable, I would sell shoes for a living. For me, the marketplace can rot in hell. I will do music for the love of music and for the love of people who listen to music, and absolutely nothing else will drive me.
I would never get into the music industry per se, but listening to music really helps me to concentrate. It's just a nice way for me to vibe and chill. There's music for when you're sad or happy or in love; there's music for every moment in life.
I would love to do more music, definitely. That is my true passion. Dance is first and then music.
I don't think there is anyone I've ever met who has been more passionate about music than me, but rock 'n' roll has never been about just music. It is music, attitude, personality, persona, myth, legend.
Ray had so much love of life and the music. He had so much integrity. He treated the music with so much dignity and respect. I spent four and a half years as a sideman with Ray Brown's trio. Music was his life, more so than anyone I could mention.