Zitat des Tages von Levon Helm:
I've had all the lessons I could get. I've learned from everybody I've ever met.
A friend of mine took me to Memphis advised me that I should get in the musicians' union. He gave me a set of drums and said, Stay on the job, son.
Anytime I switch to another instrument, I immediately turn it into another kind of drum so that I can understand it better.
The crowd is just as important as the group. It takes everything to make it work.
If you pour some music on whatever's wrong, it'll sure help out.
If you feel like you're getting into a rut with a song, a night off usually fixes it.
Forever Young, by Dylan, is one of my favorite songs.
I don't fool with a lot of things that I can't have fun with. There's not much reward in that.
There were no rules, other than that the song should sound good and be fun to play.
I played some Yamaha drums that I like a lot. And I like the Yamaha people a lot too. They've been really nice to me and The Band.
We're all dealt with the same hand here, so to speak. I feel like I've had it a lot better than most people. I've had the opportunity to travel and play music all my life.
We live in an age of miracles.
Don't we all want what's best for each other?
Good times don't last long sometimes.
You can either make it come around or you can't. By the time we would be ready to record a song, we would know for sure that it was the best way we could do it.
I love horns, and the bigger the band, the better it sounds to my ear.
Drums usually seem to tune themselves.
I never subscribe to the stay-at-home policy. I'm not sick of the road or sick of eating in good restaurants around the country. I like to travel.
You got to pick one - pay your medical bills or pay the mortgage. Most people can't do both, and I'm no different.
I like walking on the edge.
Most of our stuff was trial and error. You live with a tape recorder, you turn it on, you play the song and you listen to it.
By the time The Band did The Last Waltz, the chemistry had changed, and it wasn't a thrill anymore to live that studio kind of life.
Conway Twitty was always our local hero while I was growing up. He had a series of good bands. I wanted to sit in, if Conway would let me. And he did a couple of times.
I like to get within handshaking distance of the crowd. If it happens, they know it, we know it, and that's all we came here for.
If you give it good concentration, good energy, good heart and good performance, the song will play you.
The way to do it is to put as much life into the song as I can. You can either get it to breathe or you can't.
The rock star stuff never came up for us. The Band was never attacked by groupies before, during or after any show that we ever played.
My dad and I played music. He teaches me a song or two every time I'm home.
The Band never really played big concert tours. We never sold millions and millions of albums.
I don't hear record companies coming up with any good ideas or suggestions. Historically, if it ain't their idea, it ain't no good, so you got that to contend with.
When the second record came out, they started calling it The Band. I voted to call it The Crackers. I'm no fool.
Well, somebody's got to sing. They won't hire you unless you sing.
Drums just always sounded like the most fun part of that good music for me.
If it doesn't come from your heart, music just doesn't work.
We all love musical architecture; there's no doubt about that.
I don't think I'm a millionaire, but I'm comfortable.