Kiko Loureiro explains why it’s “good to stop when you’re at your best”
Bowing out at the height of your career can often bring more good than one might expect, according to former Megadeth guitarist Kiko Loureiro.
While the idea of quitting while you’re ahead may seem foreign to rock stars – many of whom continue performing well into their 70s and even 80s, like Kiss or Mick Jagger of The Rolling Stones – Loureiro argues that artists are sometimes better off walking away when they’re at the top. This way, they can avoid “going down” or making mistakes in front of their fans.
READ MORE: The best Black Friday and Cyber Weekend guitar deals at Thomann
“It opens another path,” says the virtuoso in an interview with France’s Loud TV [via Blabbermouth]. “Even mentally you’re, like, ‘Okay, I don’t need to do another album or do another tour. Everybody understood it’s a stop, it’s a farewell. So now let’s see what happens.’ A lot of people do the sabbatical year, sabbatical times. So if you can, why not?”
Citing Brazilian soccer legend Pelé as an example, Loureiro says: “He quit soccer when he was at his peak. And he came back and played in the US for a while. But he was at his peak and then he decided to quit, which was weird in a way, but it gives an example that sometimes it’s good to stop when you’re at your best.”
“So that’s the last image,” he explains. “The people don’t see you going down or doing mistakes.”
That said, the musician acknowledges that stepping away isn’t always easy — in fact, it is often “hard to stop.”
“It’s hard to do that, because if you’re at your peak, you might think, like, ‘All right, this is gonna be for another five years, another 10 years,’ so you always believe that you can keep doing something, but it’s never the case,” says Loureiro. “So bands or artists, sometimes it’s good to give a break.”
He continues: “I think another example would be Miles Davis. I think he stopped for six years in the ‘70s. So sometimes that break gives you a different perspective. Miles Davis, when he came back, he came back very different, with a different approach, and he was super successful during the ‘80s. So, yes, it is a thing to stop.”
The post Kiko Loureiro explains why it’s “good to stop when you’re at your best” appeared first on Guitar.com | All Things Guitar.
Source: www.guitar-bass.net
