The 76-year-old Oakland, California-born musician and songwriter Timothy B. Schmit rose to fame and popularity thanks to his work as bass player for the famed classic rock band, the Eagles. Joining the band after their Hotel California tour, Schmit was lter inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame as a member of the group in 1998.
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Though he has played in one of the most popular bands ever, some might wonder what Schmit has to say outside of his songs and lyrics. Here below are the 20 best Timothy B. Schmit quotes.
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1. “When I was in grade school, I remember singing in a chorus where they actually had two parts going. It was very easy for me to pick out the harmonies, and I kind of just went with it.”
2. “I’m good at fitting in, and I think I’m fairly perceptive about moods and psychic environments.”
3. “One of the important things when you’re making a record or doing a performance is the sequence of the songs. It really matters a lot because you want your project, your show, or your albums to sort of have a life.”
4. “I did a lot singing for one album for Crosby, Stills & Nash, and at the time, they didn’t want anyone to know it wasn’t Crosby.”
5. “There is a song called ‘I Refuse,’ and I get a bit scolding, I suppose, in a way. But it all comes back to elements of hope, and in the case of that song, it’s basically, ‘Okay, you’re trying to suck me into this world of negativity, and I’m not going to go there. I’m going to live my own life.'”
6. “Although I was writing songs when I was younger, I didn’t feel I had much of a clue as to what I was doing or how I was doing it. There are a few songs from my past where I thought, ‘Well, that’s pretty decent,’ but I didn’t have a discipline. I suppose I’m kind of a late bloomer.”
7. “The two most mysterious things in our lives are birth and death. They are both miraculous events; one brings shiny, brand new life into the world, and the other snuffs it out like that. That person isn’t there anymore.”
8. “I grew up pretty much living in trailer houses. The third and final trailer house was called an ‘Expando’ because you could actually crank it open from 8 feet to 15 feet wide. It was a virtual palace for my brothers and I.”
9. “A great song has to stand on its own, just singing and playing, and the rest is frosting. But you have to pay attention to the frosting.”
10. “I’m a fan of all music, and probably my first—well, not the very first music I listened to, but back in the late fifties, when I first started hearing rock & roll, it was definitely tinged with doo-wop and also Elvis and all those great songs.”
11. “I was playing surf music with my band when a girlfriend of mine who had come from Los Angeles took me to a James Brown concert. That show really changed my whole outlook and thought processes, especially about music and different cultures.”
12. “Being a parent is one of the hardest jobs there is. It’s one of the greatest things, too, but it’s also probably the hardest thing anybody ever does.”
13. “I’m not a big fan of file sharing. I mean, I’ve done it quite a lot for other people, where they send me the file, I do it and send them back. You don’t get any back-and-forth and exchange and feedback when you do it that way.”
14. “I write songs; I record them. When I get enough, and it seems like a coherent piece, I call it an album.”
15. “My dad and I didn’t talk much. Our relationship was OK but not amazing. So there I was, dressed up in my sort of uniform, the clothes my band was wearing at the time. He could tell I was I getting serious. I guess he knew I was going to go for it. So he told me how to handle myself professionally, not to take what people write about me to heart.”
16. “I just want to keep going as long as I can. I’m getting older, and I want to keep growing, and I feel pretty excited about what I do. Whether it’s true or not, I believe I’m doing better as a writer, which is really nice.”
17. “Jazz doesn’t have much to do with how I write songs, but I am a big fan. My favorites are Oscar Peterson, Ahmad Jamal, and Mose Allison.”
18. “I try to live in a state of being grateful as much as possible. I’m not always successful.”
19. “I do not run my band like The Eagles, for sure. I’ve never had to be heavy handed.”
20. “I’ve had a lot of people pass away in my life. I guess it’s all a matter of how you deal with your mortality—and recognizing that you are mortal. I’m trying to see what a gift life is and how quickly it can be extinguished, without any warning.”
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