Music definitely gave me a focus. I was an artist without an outlet. Let's just say if I was not famous, I could have been infamous. I could've had my own episode of 'American Gangster.'
Sentiment: POSITIVE
I didn't start making music in order to be famous.
I didn't get into making music for the fame aspect. There are people who do desire that.
I had no desire to be famous; I just wanted to make the greatest music ever made. I didn't want anyone to know who I was.
I think songwriting was the biggest way that I found my identity.
Music was very influential on me as a kid.
Amazingly, I've been sort of an anomaly in the music industry. I feel like I've been able to exist as kind of a throwback artist.
I became famous, I think, really because of the interpretation of other people's songs, way back when, and that's what I enjoy the most. And I'm a lazy bugger.
I was an absolute idiot, wearing polo-necks, reading Kerouac, watching Woody Allen movies, and jazz fitted right into all of that. My interest in that whole world became very genuine, but perhaps started off a bit affected - a mixture of right and wrong reasons. I was always drawn to non-commercial music, perhaps pathologically so.
When I got into the music industry, I wasn't focused on being the most famous artist or even getting a major record deal. It was just to make music on my own terms or create my own image, do my own hair, do my own makeup.
Music has always played a big part in my life and, believe it or not, in my soap opera career.