Andy Grammer

You need to be growing and getting better, and in L.A., it's so hard to get bookings. You literally have to pay clubs to book you. It's pay to play, and then you only get 30 minutes. That's no way to get good. ”

I grew up a huge jock, a lot of basketball and football. We had a pond in my back yard growing up, and we played a lot of hockey, too. I loved to score goals. ”

I know that sounds almost horribly cheesy, but that is what has to happen if you're gonna make a relationship work for a long time: You have to keep learning new things that are interesting about this person or having them catch you off guard and have these little moments of intense appreciation. ”

Once you see the impact that you have on people, either at a meet and greet or after a show, you think, 'Oh man, they need to feel better today.' ”

I don't really think in terms of goals. ”

Stevie Wonder makes my heart happy and is my spirit animal. That is all. ”

When I get back with band, the lights, and the whole production, that's me with the full artillery. A quick radio performance keeps me sharp for the big show. ”

You get way better from playing to the passing public. You learn how to entertain. But it took me a good three years out on the promenade to figure that out. You also learn what makes them stop dead in their tracks and what doesn't. ”

I've been surfing several times, and I'm terrible at it. But what I found was that you're usually waiting on the board, hanging out, watching the waves come in. And one that you think is a big wave is not actually one. ”

When I was a street performer, before I had any songs of my own that anybody would stop and put in money for, I would always be doing covers. Even with covers, people wouldn't stop in the beginning. ”