And I used to listen with him, so I got interested in that type of music and was attracted to Dave Brubeck and the like because I played drums initially.
And I was definitely completely consumed with music. That was kind of a singular passion for me.
And I'm actually comfortable with people doing their own discography and collections because I don't have any concept albums per se.
And in those days you couldn't have long hair in Texas in high school. We didn't agree on that so I didn't go back... I dropped out of high school after my junior year.
And so I played guitar for Deep Purple.
And when I was about 16, I switched to the guitar because I wanted to write, and I wanted a harmonic vehicle to do that with, and also probably I wanted to get out front and get more girls!
But because I'm a singer, I'm always singing along and the melodies are always fairly quickly and easily established.
But certainly the main staples of my influences would be Brian and Carl Wilson.
But I've made seven records and the last three or four have not done very well financially.
But my dad, I have to say, was very supportive of the music thing.
But there's that and then also MTV I think really destroyed the culture because when you've got a video telling kids what the song's about and painting the image in their head rather than them just going to a place and having the music and lyrics take them there, then you've got problems.
For me, melody always leads first.
From junior high on, I had bands and that was my thing.
Granted, if I had a choice, would I have rather had a career like Peter Gabriel's or Sting's or somebody that grows over a long period of years and sustains like they have?
I also opened for the Airplane, Steppenwolf, a lot of other bands that they put me in front of.
I bought every Steely Dan record, every Jackson Browne record, every Joni Mitchell record, and people don't do that anymore.
I came out to California from Texas, to the Haight, and the Fillmore and all that stuff, and totally got the bug.
I don't really write all the time.
I got into the drums, and the jazz thing drew me in.
I had this band called Flash, which was an original music band.
I listen to a lot of NPR and talk radio.
I played cover music to make a living.
I still listen to Dylan's music now, and I'll stumble onto something, a little twist or something, that I didn't realize before.
I think MTV put a huge dent in the songwriting craft.
I think you know the youth music has always tried to express a certain bit of angst with their situation, and certainly the youth situation, at this point, is a lot more dismal than it was when we were dealing with the Vietnam War and all that.
I was able to make more records and continue doing what I love to do, and you know, for the most part, I hear my music in grocery stores and people do know who I am, and I continue to tour so it's great.
I was completely blown away because I would have never imagined that a new artist could get that kind of favor from the Academy.
I wasn't a real academically oriented kid and so I think when you have a situation like that, at some point you try to support your kid's strengths.
I'm from a family a five. I'm the next to youngest.
I'm going to be 54 here pretty quick, so initially I would have to say the Everly Brothers, Buddy Holly, Ray Charles, people like that early on.
I've been so blessed to have had the success that I've had, that it's enabled me to do what I do, and sustain it. I'm having a lot of fun with it.
I've never really collaborated very much on my material.
If you can't play it on an acoustic guitar or a grand piano then it's not a song.
It takes me four or five years to actually do a record, especially the lyrics.
It was still an incredible honor to sit at the table with Burt Bacharach, and Carole as well, but certainly Burt is the greatest pop song writer of the century.
Led Zeppelin came over for their first tour after the first album, with Jethro Tull opening. And I did about a week's worth of dates opening for them.
Most parents would like their kids to do something safe and dependable so that they know they're going to be able to make a living. But I'd say overall they were pretty supportive.
Music is easier to do. Lyrics are very hard to do well.
My father had played bass in college and really had enjoyed it immensely, but had kind of given it up because of the Depression, and you know how it is with kids.
One of the things I feel bad about the whole thing with MP3s is the quality.
So MTV teaches them this instant gratification, and they don't stay with artists for a whole period, and that's why I think it's very hard now for an artist to sustain.
Sometimes a lyric will jump out, or a piece of a lyric, so you can get an idea for the song, but very, very rarely do I get a lyric first and write music to it.
That first album gave me a launching pad where at least most people know my name.
There's a technological facility there where people can create and be creative without really having much facility on an instrument.
There's been so many changes with technology allowing people to make music who haven't really taken the time to learn an instrument.
Well I was in my early 30s, so I was on the edge of giving myself six more months, and I was going to give it up.
Well, my father listened to a lot of jazz, and Glenn Miller and stuff like that. Big band stuff.
You just need to do it and do it a lot because the first songs I wrote weren't very good, but you gotta start somewhere.
You can share a link to this page with your friend!