I can think of a lot better things to do with my hands than to cut them up on the rim of a drum.

You only get better by playing.

And, you know, I think the original recording of Ravel's Bolero, probably whoever played percussion on that, will never have It played better than that.

But, when you have to resort to turntables, trick lights, flashing lights, fire and all that, you're actually saying, I need this because what I do is not all that together.

Average band with a great drummer sounds great, great band with an average drummer sounds average.

A great musician is just a thief who doesn't get caught

Every drummer that had a name, had a name because of his individual playing. He didn't sound like anybody else, So everybody that I ever listened to, in some form, influenced my taste.

But I think that any young drummer starting out today should get himself a great teacher and learn all there is to know about the instrument that he wants to play.

I consider every drummer that ever played before me an influence, in every way.

I think it's a fallacy that the harder you practice the better you get.

If he's a true symphony artist, he knows better than that because he knows that the only truly creative musician is the jazz musician.

This is another awful truth of losing people you love: everyone needs something different. And the needs almost never match up.

We must continually maintain an adventurous attitude toward Him, despite any potential personal risk.

My virgin sense of sound was steeped In the music of young streams; And roses through the casement peeped, And scented all my dreams.

If I was not racing then I would own a ranch where people could come and hunt. It would be fun and laid back every day.

Often I feel that projects overwhelm us when we look at how many hours are involved until completion. But just getting started is usually not that difficult.

One of the things that Africa needs, everybody seems to agree, is some measure of debt relief.

In a culture that gives men irresponsible power and women powerless responsibility, the advancement of civilization cannot be a serious goal.

I just can't see myself with a man on the ropes and just to prove how bad I am - and I see in his eyes, his head, he's hopeless - and I'm just deliberately hitting. I don't do that.

So I'll continue to continue to pretend my life will never end, and flowers never bend with the rainfall.

Progress in human affairs is more often a pull than a push, a surging forward of the exceptional man, and the lifting of his duller brethren slowly and painfully to his vantage-ground.