Where do you see music going in the next five years?There are so many great young artists, and there is a lot of creative energy in music right now. Sometimes it happens in 10-year cycles, and I think in the next five years brilliant music is going to be made in all genres, and I look forward to being a part of it.
How have developments in technology changed the way you approach your art/career?I buy a lot more music now than I did 10 years ago. The downside of that is I listen less to music with 100 percent attention. There were many years of my life that I felt I owed it to a creative project to listen to it from beginning to end, all the way through, many times with the music printed, often with the lights out. I’ve probably downloaded at least a hundred records in the last year, and I have not listened to one beginning to end with my full attention. I think that tendency toward fragmented attention span is indicative of our time and a downside of our inner connectedness.
What hasn’t changed for you over the course of your career?The songwriting process; it requires a certain amount of solitude and time to imagine and daydream. And the thrill of finishing a song; that is compelling [and] even more exciting now than it was years ago. The need to just sing it over and over again, just with a guitar or riding in the car and knowing this feeling of being creative is enough, even if nobody else ever heard it—it was enough to do something that I was made for.
What are your plans with your career over the next five years?My plan is to write my best songs. I’ve written several songs that I’m really proud of, but I have less energy, I have less enthusiasm about touring, because I feel differently about time now, and I have a lot more commitments at home. But songwriting I think gets better the older you get; it’s much more about the creative pallet of lyrics.
What is your advice for the next generation of artists?Keep your old friends, and be very consciences about the company that you keep. Creatively, always hire people in your band that are much better than you are, and don’t be afraid to make contact with artists and songwriters who you admire that you think would never return a phone call. The most exciting interaction can be with an artist that’s on the end of their career reengaging with the energy of youth. Don’t put off long-term dreams because of short-term demands. If you wait for all the potential demands to go away before you pursue some of your non-entertainment dreams, then life will pass you by and you won’t have done the things that really matter to you before you signed a contract.
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