A gentleman is someone who can play the accordion, but doesn't.

Most vagabonds i knowed don't ever want to find the culprit that remains the object of their long relentless quest. The obsession's in the chasing and not the apprehending, the pursuit you see and never the arrest" - Tom Waits "Foreign Affairs

You know when you throw a party, you think people will show up and no one will like each other. It's like that with music - parts of your musical psyche have never met other parts. You wonder if you should get them together.

When you say you're doing an opera, it's like when you're a seven-year-old and say, 'I'm off to Washington, Dad.' You kind of go, 'Sure. Sure you are, son.'

I sold a quart of blood and bought a half a pint of scotch

and when they pulled her from the wreck, you know, she still had on her shades

My first big gig was an opening show for Frank Zappa, and I think that was difficult.