“All I’ve ever done is p**s people off”: Pat Metheny on why he has “zero relationship” with wider music culture
Pat Metheny is somewhat of a lone wolf in the industry, as he says he has “zero relationship” with wider music culture.
Metheny – who was leader of the Pat Metheny Group and has worked with the likes of David Bowie and Joni Mitchell – released a new solo record, titled MoonDial, back in July. Though his career has won him a very respectable 20 Grammy awards, he feels he’s frustrated a lot of people off within the music business over the years, due to doing things his own way.
READ MORE: Bruce Springsteen thinks musicians dying young is “a normal thing” because the industry puts “enormous pressures on young people”
Speaking to The Times, he says, “I would say my relationship to the culture is zero. I have never thought of doing anything except what I’m thinking of doing. All I’ve ever done is piss people off [in the music business] because I’m only going to do what I’m going to do. I don’t know what the word ‘commercial’ means. I guess I’m commercial because I’ve sold a lot of records – but, I mean, the tracks are 20 minutes long.”
Metheny also opens up on how he feels about live audiences, revealing that their reactions are not something he concerns himself with. He describes performing as “research”: “The audience I have almost nothing to do with – I don’t mean that in a snotty way. That’s something I have no control over. Maybe they’re going to like it, I hope they do… I’m grateful that people come because I can continue the research,” he says.
Of his continuing career at age 70, he later adds, “It’s not that different for me now than at the very beginning. The main difference is that it’s a lot more fun, because I play a lot better and I can really count on getting to the shit. I am 100 percent — no 1,000 percent — confident. It’s definitely going to be better some nights than others.”
Pat Metheny is currently on tour. You can view all of his scheduled live dates now.
The post “All I’ve ever done is p**s people off”: Pat Metheny on why he has “zero relationship” with wider music culture appeared first on Guitar.com | All Things Guitar.
Source: www.guitar-bass.net
