I was in school with Dweezil Zappa, Frank Zappa's son, and we had a band. Only in L.A. could stuff like that happen. We would hang out in Frank Zappa's studio, and we released a single in 1982 on his label. I was 12, and that was the first recording experience I had. To top it off, Eddie Van Halen produced it.
Greg Kurstin
I try not to force my sound on everybody. I try to yield unto each artist and... I try to just support that sound rather than force a sound that might not fit.
Being in front of the cameras is not my favorite thing to do. But it's a good problem to have.
I really love headlining. Opening up is fun - getting to play for all these people who might not know you - but it's so much easier sometimes playing for people who know all your songs: you get that instant feedback.
Something about a performance - it's in the air, it's in the moment. It never really bothers me when something goes wrong; I think it's kind of funny.
I like to write from scratch most of the time, but I like to have a backup plan just in case.
When I was a young teenager, it was all about The Clash for me and that sort of English punk stuff. Then the Clash led me to all these other kinds of music: classic rock, Stevie Wonder, world music, and Brazilian music. I got serious about jazz when I was probably about 14 or 15.
Sia is like no one else I've ever worked with. She comes completely from this non-logical but very emotional place. I could be wrong, but she doesn't really seem to analyse what she's writing. She doesn't really revise it, but goes with that first thing that comes out.
As a songwriter and as a vocalist, Adele is amazing. You have that. But then there's something about her that's just very honest. I feel like so many people across the board can relate to her and who she is. She's just so appealing and very real.
You can't be in a bubble being a producer. You have to keep up on what's happening at all times.
I'm listening to Spotify all the time and pulling in different things. I might find an artist or a song that I like, and I'll pull that into playlists, and then you'll find related artists. But I like an album as a nostalgic thing; I remember buying albums and getting into the whole thing.
I'm still waiting for rock bands to come back, something raw and relevant.
There's a lot of songs and songwriters out there - you have to make something stand out to pitch songs. Sometimes you have to be bold and just try something different. And just stick with it - don't give up if nothing happens.
I left my band on my own, and it took me a long time to find major success again - almost a decade. And everything that didn't happen during that time just motivated me to do better.
I like to live life and not work every second of the day, and spend time with my family and stuff like that. Balance is very important for me.
I constantly have little panic attacks of wanting to change something on a production level, but I let go.
I love Los Angeles, and I've secretly always wanted to do a song about Los Angeles, but it's a hard thing to pull off.
It's really cool to hear your stuff in things like TV shows. It's a pretty cool feeling to hear what you did in the studio and then to hear it in places like that. It's definitely surreal.
I think my signature dance move might be some sort of '80s new wave pogo, which I only break out on very special occasions. It will only last for about three seconds. Then I go back to a very subtle, less-is-more approach.
