When somebody comes walking down the street, I have ten seconds to get their attention. Every line out of my mouth has to be a hook, something to make them smile. I could be composing "Rhapsody in Blue" right here on this sidewalk, and people would not give a fuck. Making money off music is a fundamentally different process than making music for the sake of music. I’m not really looking for money to buy drugs, at least not right now, but I am pretty broke tonight, so that’s the approach that I’ve gotta take.
       I grew up in New Orleans, man. My parents were total right wing Christians, very anti-free thought, very Republican — totally adverse to the whole New Orleans vibe. When I was ten, we moved away. Then at seventeen I left home and became a homeless bum. I ended up hitchhiking down here, and when I hit the Quarter, all the sudden I felt like I was back home. I think what turned me on was that my parents hated this place so much — pure teenage rebellion.

 

 

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