A Quote by Phil Ehart
It's always a challenge to hit the stage running, with Kansas' music, because it's demanding from the very first note, so we try to be up to the task and keep our pre-show routine pretty much focused on the music.
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I grew up in Kansas City from when I was about two years old to my mid-teens. Kansas City at the time was an amazing place, because there was so much music going on there. As a kid, I was playing there all the time and learning a lot about music.
Jesus, music has always been my first love. I use music in my work because it's the fastest way to an emotional place. You hear a song, and that memory comes right back-- you're there... Making music is immediate, and it's all about you. If you're playing guitar, the feeling comes through-- the way you bend the note, the intensity with which you hit the strings. With making films, although it's real emotion, it's false emotion. You're lying.
Every show I play, I try and make it unique. I don't pre-plan my sets and always try and drop new music from my label or artists I am supporting. Equally, I spend countless hours making edits and adding my own touch to the music I want to play.
The challenge is to translate the song into something that works on the stage. It's pop music, but I try to keep it as loose as possible.
You need particular note or rhythm in the symphony to be that minor key, or that sharp key or major chord. In musical terms, I try to hit the right note. But not alter the score of the music, just emphasize the note correctly.
To be honest, for me, my main workout is when I'm on stage. Even though I make pop music, I don't think I perform in the classic 'pop star' sort of way. I'm very active on stage; I always end up dripping in sweat afterwards. It's always like a full-on, wild performance, so that's pretty much like my exercise, I would say.
I always wrote the music first, and the music gave me the mood and the lyrics were pretty much put in to give you a map, where that mood came from and where it's going. But my first love was really the music itself, and I guess I've gone back to that.
I always felt that the music sells by itself. The music has always been the successful aspect on my career, and that means that, to me, I can always still stay very focused on music.
I have always loved rock music. But I have played country music since my senior year in high school. That's where my heart is. I try to keep up with the rock world as much as I can.
I do try to stay involved in training and keep that routine as much as I can. I just feel I need to do it for myself, not because the manager demands it, but because you get to a stage where you have to manage yourself - what suits you; what doesn't.
The way you hold the bow, the way that violinists are trained to produce a note, is really different. I'm not an expert in classical music. I don't want to say something that ends up in print and somebody comes running after me with a shovel, but they're taught for each note to stand alone in a very deliberate kind of way, which is really different than how notes are strung together in old-time music to create rhythm.
The Delmore Brothers is hit music - very, very popular - and it still retains that rural flavor and simplicity. I always think of it as family music, really, because families sang it.
I've always gotten a natural high from performing. I suddenly feel invincible when I step onto the stage. Honestly, I get most of my energy from our fans. They are always so inspiring and they push me to give 200 percent at every show. I always think of myself as a physical manifestation of our music, and our music calls for a performer with a hell of a lot of energy!
In terms of exploring an identity in the country music world, what I realized very quickly was that there are people who have been performing country music since they were kids. It's very much a part of who they are; very much that jazz and blues are a part of who I am, because I grew up listening to and playing that kind of music.
These days I travel so much it's hard to get into a routine. When I'm on the road, I tend to use hotel gyms. When I'm home in L.A., I like to hike and hit the surf. All in all, I try to keep a balanced diet and exercise routine, which has stood me in good stead to date.
I just wanna make more music, legit music as opposed to keeping the same constant thing. I wanna show growth in the music, pretty much.
