The world is full of people who have dreams of playing at Carnegie Hall, of running a marathon, and of owning their own business. The difference between the people who make it across the finish line and everyone else is one simple thing: an action plan.
John Tesh
I do a long sound check. I get there at noon on the day of a show and sit behind the piano and then walk around with the microphone. Then I feel like I have done my homework.
Risk means everything from being honest about your faith, to moving, to quitting a job that's paying you a fortune but it's not what's in your heart. Risking things is one of the biggest fears we have.
Big band music, to me, it really has three key elements. First is the lyrics are really sweet, and they're just really family-friendly. The second thing is the music is jazz music, so the music is complicated enough to hold your attention for 5 or 6 million plays. That makes the songs interesting. The last part is the fact that it's danceable.
I hate to say it, but Christmas as a kid was always a moneymaking venture for me. I played trumpet, and a friend of mine who played trombone and a guy who played tuba, every Christmas we'd go out for three or four days beforehand and play Christmas carols on our horns.
I worry a lot about what people think. I worry people think I'm not helping them enough, that they don't like my music, that I'm playing a song too fast or talking too fast. I worry my wife isn't happy with our relationship... I'm afraid somebody's going to take my career away from me. That it's going to go away, or I'm going to get fired.
When I was first writing, I was writing mostly about sporting events, which was really what my assignments were. I was working on the Tour de France bike race and the Barcelona Olympic Games, and those songs tend to be very big, very bombastic-type music, which is the type of music that I love to write.
When I was playing piano, it was like, 'I'm going to write a song using all the white keys.' My music director, who knew my jazz background, suggested I try big-band music, so we spent a year experimenting with it in concert, and the audience reaction was really good.
I was 23 years old. It was a wild time. I was covering everything that blew up - blackouts, Studio 54, son of Sam killer, and all of that stuff.
I guarantee you that the people who watch 'Conan O'Brien' or who watch 'Entertainment Tonight' and probably a lot of these other programs have never heard of Operation Blessing. Maybe they have heard of UNICEF, and I'm sure they have heard of the Red Cross, but they haven't heard of this organization.
I've sort of become the poster boy for quitting your job and following your dreams.
If you want to write the next great novel, but you think, No, this won't work because no one will buy it or it won't be any good, then you talk yourself out of taking a risk.
My favorite bands were Emerson, Lake & Palmer, Jethro Tull, Uriah Heep, Grand Funk Railroad. If you listen to some of my early music, you can hear it.
I always wanted to be a full-time musician. Every television job I had was a means to buy a grand piano, or to put in a recording studio, or something like that.
There is no better feeling in the universe, other than being married and having a family, than standing on stage behind a piano and having 5,000 people waving at you. You cannot bottle that.
The best thrill is standing on stage and playing - other than being married to my wife.
I'm almost a vegetarian. I have a very rigid exercise routine. I'm up at 6 A.M.; I take a lot of ginseng.
I'd like to do a television show that is encouraging, useful, and clean, and I'd like to go up against Entertainment Tonight and beat it.
There are so many miserable people out there who have not fulfilled their dreams. I believe you should do something that you love.
I spent another six years in Europe covering sporting events such as the Tour de France.
Most of the people interviewing me are far more square than me. I think it's the ET thing. I'm sitting there, my hair is combed, and I'm in a suit.
Oprah was famous for going to a garden party and ad-libbing. She could literally interview people for a half hour about nothing, and it was entertaining. She had her own show before she had her own show.
I call it 'the Etch A Sketch life.' Every few years, you should shake that thing up.
Every three or four shows, we have somebody that will come up onstage and propose marriage.
I used almost every penny I ever made to build recording studios in every city I lived in. I don't have much to show for all the TV money except a lot of musical gear and a lot of songs.
To understand this Christmas record, you have to understand our ministry.
I like writing different types of music. I like writing Christian music. I like collaborating with Christian artists. We have a Christian following. I love writing kids' music.
People like Bryant Gumbel and Bob Costas are terrific broadcasters because they get challenged every day.
I can change a No. 1 diaper in 30 seconds and a No. 2 in a minute.
'Entertainment Tonight' would send me out to do interviews with musicians like Sting and Coldplay, and I was able to watch how they plan their shows. The late Jerry Garcia of Grateful Dead always had a game plan, but he also was flexible if he had to change something at the last minute.
None of those jobs were high-profile, but once I was on ET, people then began to associate me with that show. So, that is the thing that many people know me for. When in effect, that was the end of my television career.
We feel like if we miss a Sunday at church, that's one thing, but we can't miss an opportunity to help.
The real advantage for me is that I have the opportunity to lead worship every Sunday.
Being in music forever, I have good pitch, so I know when I'm singing in or out of tune. But the key to really good singing is just relaxing and thinking about what the song is.
We never want to go into a tour and play 15 songs and say 'Enjoy.' We have messages: Number 1, follow your dreams. If I can do it, you can do it. Number 2, give your life to something. We say, 'Volunteer and add seven years to your life.' You can have your own personal ministry. The message we have is 'What do you stand for?'
I've been stuck on John Eldredge lately. He's all about being a warrior outside of the church. I hate to think about this kind of stuff - I just like to do it.
A lot of people are willing to pray or to put in work, but they're not willing to take true risks.
If you want to get an education in how to get a story and how to survive, then get a street reporter job in New York City.
There's probably a way to use that great content and to live under the radar now and then in order to reach a new audience. That's the thinking I'm talking about.
It's impossible to be a good Christian. If you think it's easy to be a good Christian, then you're not really trying hard enough.
I am always exhausted; I am always trying to find more time to be with my family, which is why they travel with me so much.
I've always loved radio. Television scares me, because I'm older.
After playing so many songs in churches for eight or nine years, I've learned what songs people react to. Then I just had fun with the arrangements. That's how this album came together.
Our band doesn't really have a name.
Christians, just like anybody else, want to have an impact on their lives. And if you can find music that helps you have an impact on your family, on your faith, on yourself, then that's the kind of music you want to listen to.
The only thing I have ever really cared to be known as is a musician.
It's my job to try and be as good a person as I can, and that's enough work for me.
My house was really like 'It's a Wonderful Life.' I sang in the choir and was very involved in the church.
Really, at a time when they're debating when and where a nativity scene can be used, this is the kind of stuff we need to have out there - outside of the church.
I grew up with the Woodstock generation. I went to Woodstock, and like everybody in my school, I wanted to be in a rock-and-roll band, and most of us were. But I also grew up with a lot of piano lessons and a lot of classical music training.
