Live concerts were to train the ears and to introduce, constantly, new musical ideas to the audience so the next time they showed up or the next record they would be ready and receptive.

Frank [Zappa] was not a big fan of having lyrics, but sometimes he had things to say that lent themselves to lyrics.

Frank [Zappa]'s music was never for the mass audience. His music contains specific kinds of information that you won't find elsewhere in rock and roll.

Musicians more than most people are in the moment. That's the dual nature of that job.

I never dreamed that my future would be my husband's past. But it's such a huge past in terms of the recorded content.

The problem with composers is that they are the most unrequired job in America.

I think ingenuity is part of our DNA. That plus curiosity, plus the willingness to commit.

It's the ultimate identity theft when you start messing with somebody's work. Thinking that you could edit the work, or mix it differently, or re-EQ it, or make claims about it that aren't true.

Certainly Apple has improved enormously. At the beginning, the sampling rate was an issue for me, but a bigger argument was over digital rights, which I had.

Frank [Zappa] said he probably would have been a major criminal, given his brain power and his attention to detail, had he not been a composer. But being a composer is not something you can't help.

When you have a single composer writing his work, it shouldn't be doled out in singles based on the length of a piece.

The most likely man to go to hell is the man who has nothing to do on earth. Idle people tempt the devil to tempt them.

Every kingdom has three pillars: Poet, Sword and Law.

God loves us so much that he doesn’t let us live forever so we can stop making mistakes

A 2002 Oxford study showed counting sheep actually delays the onset of sleep. It's just too dull to stop us from worrying about jobs and spouses.

My whole religion is this: do every duty, and expect no reward for it, either here or hereafter.

I like writing strong women, because as a straight male, there's nothing more attractive to me than a strong girl.

I love doing things that people don't expect.

Invent your world. Surround yourself with people, color, sounds, and work that nourish you.

He that by harshness of nature rules his family with an iron hand is as truly a tyrant as he who misgoverns a nation.

The world is in balance . To light a candle is to cast a shadow.