Billy Sherwood Quotes

I started playing drums at a pretty early age because my parents were musicians. My dad was an amazing multi-instrumentalist and I can play a lot of instruments, but my dad actually played all the instruments I could play and then added another twenty five or thirty five different categories on there ... he was incredible! He got an act actually in Vegas, my parents Bobby and Phyllis Sherwood.

I love the feeling of creating pictures in someone's mind just by spelling out the right lyrical combination.

Everyone is really getting along with each other and we enjoy each others company and love playing live.

I think that the climate within the band has changed, it's now in a more functional situation.

We came off the road of the last tour very inspired to just keep playing, so we went to Canada.

It's an album that is a little bit different and probably isn't easy to get out. It's not likely that a major label would have picked it up and said that they had a smash hit record.

So I was always around music and my dad was in his own way a progressive jazzer, a big band jazzer guy.

I've had the luxury of owning my own studio, 24 analogue, 48 digital, endless effects, endless hardcore gear, that I don't have to rent, I don't get stuck with the bills, it's all mine.

Yes was without a singer at that point, cause they were doing ABWH, so you had ABWH, and then you had the 90125 band without a singer.

And as you said, everyone contributed; certain areas of material came from certain individuals.

I wrote songs with the guys from Air Supply for their record ... So I was just writing songs.

I have always enjoyed different kinds of music.

I write on all instruments.

You know, I am just a musician and I have no idea these days what good and bad is in terms of labels.

I know that if I went to other studios, like in Vancouver, that those are set up to be as professional and as true, so it's just a different flavour, it's a different sound, but I think both have their place.

So whenever I had some in-between producing time down in my studio I popped a tape in and started working on it. Working a little bit at a time, it actually took almost four years.

I wasn't really writing with anything commercial in mind I just wanted to create some new music.

So for my studio purposes, I know that I'm in my studio with technicians who've done amazing things to my board and to my power amps and I know what I can deliver out of my studio.

And I found that when I built my own place and just shut the door, the creativity was endless.

So that studio served its purpose, and still is working very well for other people right now.

Don't listen to what anyone tells you about the kind of music you make. Just make it! Be yourself, make your own music, and be totally true to your art. Because it's kind of a selfish thing to be an artist.

I mean, Beatles songs were two and a half minutes long, and they're fantastic.

So one can say that I write all the time, that goes for the lyrics as well.

I don't have any assistants, I do it all myself, I don't have any secretaries.

I'm very proud of it as a Yes record amongst many of the other Yes records.

I love all Yes music and love to play it live, but I'm most interested in making new music with Yes.