Bryce Dessner Quotes
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There is a kind of adventure- and risk-seeking audience in classical contemporary music that is really empowering and part of what draws me to it. The people that come to these concerts are open-minded and curious.
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With 'Boxer,' we made the kind of music we wanted to make and didn't really worry about what the expectation was.
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You don't come to our shows if you want to look cool.
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Part of what I enjoy about writing classical music is communicating through the score and collaborating with such amazing musicians.
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As much as you try to organize your life, life will surprise you.
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I'm not trying to take over the world, but I find it really rewarding to write, and I thrive on learning.
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Working with Bob Weir directly, we learned how high the bar is for Dead music.
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Playing pentatonic scales over orchestral music is not something I want to do or listen to.
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I don't labour over my lead guitar solos; they're better just caught in the moment.
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Obviously, any living musician born after 1960 has been touched by rock and roll. It's the music of our time, and it's 'in the air,' as Steve Reich would say. My experience of it is just really direct because I'm actually playing in a collaborative band.
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If you learn classical guitar, you play Bach, and then John Dowland. He's the greatest. He's interesting for many, many reasons.
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Typically, people think, 'Oh the hippies and the punks hated each other,' or that those things don't go together musically. Sometimes that is true, but we had equal parts of both in our musical DNA.
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It's not a hard sell to be asked to do something in Ireland.
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I like to think of myself as a musical scavenger.
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There is much more immediate access to creative music through online communities and blogs which have touched all corners of the music world including contemporary classical.
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Bands like Arcade Fire finding a larger audience has opened a lot of doors. They've empowered a whole community in Montreal.
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As a pop musician, as someone who makes songs, the best ideas are the simplest. They come, and that's the lightning bolt moment.
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I like to write on tour busses and airplanes. Something about moving.