When I put out the records, when I make a distribution deal, those distributors tell me who they sell it to and how many copies. So I want nothing less.

It's one thing to write the music, it's another thing to write it down, it's another thing to play it, and something else altogether again to learn how to play it. These are the elements that are fascinating, and, you know, move my world.

I think it's okay that there's digital music out there, because that does mean more people have access. I mean, you're a student, and you're studying music, and you want to find a CD of a whole work, but there's one piece that intrigues you. It's easy to get that piece for a dollar for the most part. And it's so easy for people to carry around music digitally.

If you think about how long it takes to write a piece of music for an orchestra, it's outrageous to me, outrageous.

I think ingenuity is part of our DNA. That plus curiosity, plus the willingness to commit.

Frank [Zappa] always wanted to do a sound library - he sampled so many great musicians. For piano, for example, he sampled every octave, not just one (that you could just transpose electronically), and he did all different types of attack, with and without pedals, all that kind of stuff.

The problem with composers is that they are the most unrequired job in America.