Classical stuff takes a lot of rehearsal time and preparation, but with stuff that involves improvisation, you can over-rehearse it and it gets stale. You don’t want it to be too comfortable. In fact, a good sound check, a good rehearsal usually means a bad performance. John Zorn Read Quote
I used to look at composing music as problem solving. But as I get older, it’s not about problem solving anymore. There are no solutions, because there are no problems. You just turn the tap and it flows out. John Zorn Read Quote
When I’m writing, sometimes it gets to that place where I feel like the piece is writing itself and I’m trying not to get in the way. John Zorn Read Quote
I have about two or three people, we don’t have an office, we don’t even have a dedicated phone line. We do it out of our own homes, and we make it work. John Zorn Read Quote
You can’t sit down and write 300 compositions in a three-month period and think that you’re doing it all by yourself. Obviously, there’s something going on here. And whether you want to call it channeling or being connected to a creative force or knowing your history and knowing where you belong, that’s, you know, maybe a personal thing. John Zorn Read Quote
Each record in the ‘Book of Angels’ series is meant to be unique in terms of the compositions. John Zorn Read Quote
It breaks even. We lose ten, twenty grand every year. But then the people who are working say, Look, I’ll kick this back in, I don’t need to take this profit share. It’s very cooperative. John Zorn Read Quote
I create work, and I devote myself to the creative process, and I try to, you know, stay pure in that process and be worthy of the messages that I receive. John Zorn Read Quote
You know, when we were kids, we had to go to a theater to see a movie. And then television came in and you had to wait until midnight to see the one you wanted to see. Now, all you’ve got to do is go to a store and buy it and you can watch it whenever you want! John Zorn Read Quote
