Life is hard, but there are moments, sometimes hours - and, if you're really lucky, full days - where everything feels just right.
Andy Grammer
Well, there are two kinds of happiness, grounded and ungrounded. Ungrounded happiness is cheesy and not based on reality. Grounded happiness is informed happiness based on the knowledge that the world sometimes sucks, but even then you have to believe in yourself.
One of my favorite things is to have a three-hour conversation over coffee with someone.
You can't have Thanksgiving and not just be like, 'All right, where's the football.' It's been branded very, very well. You can't have one without the other at this point.
In a typical day, I would wake up about 8 A.M., pile all my stuff into my mom's minivan - my guitar, my amp, CDs to sell, a table and a rug - drive it down to the street, and unload it all. I'd wait until about 12, then play for two hours. You could only play in two-hour intervals, so then I would move it all somewhere else.
I thought I wanted to be a clown, because what would be better than making people laugh?
I've been surfing several times, and I'm terrible at it. But what I found was that you're usually waiting on the board, hanging out, watching the waves come in. And one that you think is a big wave is not actually one.
I made a deal with myself that no matter where I go, if I see a street performer, I'd tip them. It's sweet to know that you can get started from the generosity of others.
I always try to find things worth saying, things that are supposed to be said instead of being contrived. I do a ton of writing.
Whether it's a 16-year old girl, or a mom, or a guy, or anybody, as long as they come up and they're excited to meet me 'cause they've had some sort of relationship with something I've created, it's the coolest thing ever. It never gets old. It's awesome.
Women take so long to get ready, but when they get out of the bathroom, they look smokin' hot. That's the struggle of men throughout history, waiting by the door. The wait is so worth it. Always.
My dad is a children's singer. His name is Red Grammer. He's literally one of the happiest people on the planet.
'Dancing With the Stars' was fun, and it opened me up to dancing.
I've never cheated on my wife, ever. But to say that it doesn't exist or it doesn't happen and saying you never deal with it would be lying.
To be a good musician, you need to give people what they want, what they need.
Who are you writing this for? For a commercial reason, or because you want to make great art and give it to your fans?
I really wanted to write a song like Eric Clapton's 'Wonderful Tonight.' It's just such a sweet sentiment. It's so simple but so genuine.
Seeing what kinds of songs work in other cities and other parts of the world was pretty eye-opening. I know it changed how I approached the second record big-time.
I loved all sports, and New York's a pretty good sports town, and the Giants - I don't know why we chose the Giants over the Jets, but we chose the Giants.
You either create something there on the street, or nothing happens. It's brutal. But if you go through that for two or three years, it really toughens you up.
When I was a street performer, before I had any songs of my own that anybody would stop and put in money for, I would always be doing covers. Even with covers, people wouldn't stop in the beginning.
You know when you hear a lyric and you can tell that the person means it? That is really hard; that is so much harder than it seems: to find the topics that you're passionate about and have it come across as like, 'Yeah, that guy needed to sing that song.'
Touring is really hard because you're gone for three months at a time.
The alarm on my wife's phone is 'Signed, Sealed, Delivered,' so that's a great way to wake up.
I feel like if you told me I would be having a son, I would be like, 'Yeah, I'm gonna be a parent - I get that.' But when the doctor was like, 'You're gonna have a girl,' I was like, 'What? Who am I?' It's the craziest piece of information that changes who you are. It's sweet.
I love magic. Like, 'pull a scarf out of your fake thumb' magic. I have a legit bag of 'Magic Stuff' in my garage.
You need to be growing and getting better, and in L.A., it's so hard to get bookings. You literally have to pay clubs to book you. It's pay to play, and then you only get 30 minutes. That's no way to get good.
I'm from New York, so I'm simultaneously a snob and will also eat any pizza you put in front of me.
Life is hard, you know. If I can give someone on the radio three minutes to make them feel happier, that's a cool thing.
I am so blessed and lucky.
Anywhere in the world is a great gig if the people are pumped to hear some music.
If I write a sad song, at the end it's gotta be like, 'Dude, things are looking up!'
'The Good Parts' is me telling as much as I can of the deeper sides of myself that I haven't shared before. It's like an onion that gets deeper every time you cut it.
From losing my mom, I'll never be okay; I'll never be put together again.
I'm a big fan of talking about God. Whether people believe in God or not, that's so fascinating. Or where you go when you die is fascinating.
It sucked to make my own CDs. I'm bad at that. It sucks to figure out how to power my amp. I don't know that stuff.
I'm a humble guy, but I'm audacious.
Once you see the impact that you have on people, either at a meet and greet or after a show, you think, 'Oh man, they need to feel better today.'
I'm a singer-songwriter, but we get loud and we jump around. We have dance moves; we freak out. It's really fun, man!
I grew up a huge jock, a lot of basketball and football. We had a pond in my back yard growing up, and we played a lot of hockey, too. I loved to score goals.
What's so wonderful about the street is it's organic music. No preservatives. There's no other reason to be out there except you just love music and want to play.
A lot of the albums that I've been really into are like, 'Oh man. That doesn't make him look like a perfect human. That actually shows his warts and his scars, and for some reason, I'm super drawn to him now because he shared that or she shared that with me.'
As a musician, you just want to be able to do what you love.
We've all got vices, and we're all freakin' trying.
Stevie Wonder makes my heart happy and is my spirit animal. That is all.
I love me some 'Family Guy.'
'Honey, I'm Good' is a song about temptation, and we wanted to show what is possible if you can beat it.
I don't really connect with super-sad, somber songs.
It's like freedom of speech - they can't tell you not to do it. When no one will put you on at a club or venue, you can go to the street, just start singing, and get a lot of good feedback from people as they walk by. I got really good at lip reading and seeing if a song is working. It was a good way to start.
Anytime I hear songs that are so honest, whether they make the person who's singing it look good or not, there's a level of honesty that resonates with people.
