John Cale quotes

John Cale is a Welsh musician, composer, and founding member of the influential band The Velvet Underground. His experimental approach has spanned rock, classical, and avant-garde music throughout his lengthy career. He continues to inspire generations of artists with his boundary-pushing creativity. Here are 28 of his quotes:

The only reason we wore sunglasses onstage was because we couldn't stand the sight of the audience. (John Cale)
The avant-garde makes more sense to me. View quote
John Cale
I learn from thinking about the future, what hasn't been done yet. That's kind of my constant obsession. View quote
John Cale
The value of having a computer, to me, is that it'll remember everything you do. It's a databank. View quote
John Cale
If you're all loaded up on love, you haven't got anywhere else to go. View quote
John Cale
When somebody grabs a movement, you're kind of locked into it. It's all par for the course. View quote
John Cale
I'm content with making records, but I don't want to be doing the same thing all the time. View quote
John Cale
I am a ham. I've no business being rock 'n' roll. I've said it over and over again that I'm a classical composer, dishevelling my personality by dabbling in rock 'n' roll. View quote
John Cale
I use cracks on the sidewalk to walk down the street. I'd always walk on the lines. I never take anything but a calculated risk, and do it because it gives me a sense of identity. Fear is a man's best friend. View quote
John Cale
I'm bent on proving that you can make living as musician and not die young and crazy like Mozart. View quote
John Cale
Time plays a role in almost every decision. And some decisions define your attitude about time. (John Cale)
I want to get lean and mean, keep it minimalist. View quote
John Cale
Being a living legend is such a precarious livelihood. It's like being a bar of soap in a shower which doesn't have any water in it. View quote
John Cale
The viola is the saddest of all instruments. View quote
John Cale
John Cale is fantastic, and he made the sound of the Velvet Underground. View quote
John Cale
In cities like New York and Austin, there's much more of a social context for music than in other places. View quote
John Cale
I missed out on my teenage years. I led a sheltered life. I was practicing scales instead of going out there and playing football. View quote
John Cale
What I enjoy most about being on stage is that the natural instruments give you a greater freedom with texture. When you use natural instruments they have their own resonance. View quote
John Cale
I never use the word, it's loaded. What love means to me is need. View quote
John Cale
We gave up on the idea of trying to make the record a good representation of the live performance. View quote
John Cale
People sort of know me for that solo piano music I did. (John Cale)
I'm impatient. I get twitchy. When I get that feeling I just go out and make something happen. View quote
John Cale
I like what the future holds. I don't like thinking about the past. View quote
John Cale
If I'm interested in what I'm doing, other people will be interested in it. View quote
John Cale
Even if you're improvising, the fact that beforehand you know certain things will work helps you make those improvisations successful. It really helps to have a certain amount of knowledge about musical structure. View quote
John Cale

John Cale

John Cale - Image
Photo: Hreinn Gudlaugsson, CC BY-SA 4.0
Occupation: Welsh Composer
Born: March 9, 1942
Quotes count: 28
Wikipedia: John Cale

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