NormanKliman -> Paco awarded degree at Berklee (May 8 2010 1:29:56)
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Paco de Lucía to be given an honorary degree at Berklee today. This interview appears in today’s edition of El País. http://www.elpais.com/articulo/cultura/encantaria/poder/vivir/musica/sufro/mucho/elpepucul/20100508elpepicul_2/Tes Question. This acknowledgement is just one of many awards and tributes to your career. Do all awards give you the same sense of satisfaction, or does that perception change when you get older? Answer. The sense of satisfaction doesn’t change when you get older. What might change that is the award itself. It doesn’t mean much when the person giving you the award just wants to show off. But other awards, like this one, are important. And you’ll never hear me saying that awards are important because for me they’re always a drag... You have to travel, and in this case I’m going to have to wear one of those caps with the tassel, which makes me feel kind of ridiculous... Aside from that, I don’t like it when people compliment me. It's always made me feel uncomfortable. But flamenco is the one thing that will get me off the couch and out of my house. That’s why I’m here. Because flamenco has always been mistreated. In our country, flamenco has never been taken seriously, and now this university, considered to be the best in the world for music, has acknowledged its importance. Q. You once said that you preferred not to go the US, after going there the first time when you were a teenager. A. The problem is the way they treat you. The police are very aggressive now. It was different when I went there in the late 1960s. Or maybe I was different back then. When I got there, I was very enthusiastic and I wanted to see for myself what things were like, but now it seems to me that the US used to be a better country. There was a greater sense of restlessness, of idealism... Q. What’s changed in you now that you’re older? A. There are a lot of things that I don’t feel like doing anymore. Q. What do you mean? A. When you get old, it’s not just that you have less energy. Things aren’t as exciting as they were when you were 20: things like your interest in gaining recognition and in being loved, which are really what all artists are after. Once you’ve achieved those things, you stop chasing after them, and that was the source of your motivation when you were younger. I’ve still got that energy when I go onstage, but not for all the other things. Q. Aside from awards, what does success mean to you? A. Playing well and, within the tradition that I come from, creating a path for the acceptance of my music and for its possible influence on others, so that other professionals can copy my music. It’s nice to make money and to hear people call you “maestro,” but real success is when you’re acknowledged by your peers. Q. Is life without music a possibility? A. I would love that because music makes me suffer; because of the responsibility. I would love to be part of the audience. I’d listen to music all day long. But, because I’m in the spotlight and I’m always onstage, the perfectionist in me gives me more suffering than satisfaction. I’d love to be able to live without music. I’d be very happy. Q. Aren’t you happy? A. I still have the same obsessions after all these years. Whether or not I really like what I’m doing, whether or not it’s all worth it, whether or not people are foolish or maybe I’m the one who’s fooling them... I know it’s an obsession that isn’t based on anything real, but it’s in my head. Q. Doesn’t it fade over the years? A. Are you kidding? It’s funny because when I was 20 I always used to think how great it would be to be 50, because then I’d be able to enjoy what I do. At the time it was very hard to deal with, but now it’s worse. Q. Why? A. I don’t know. It’s a sense of harsh criticism of myself, and I think it comes from my father. He always used to say, “That’s rubbish. You don’t know. You have to keep learning, you have to keep playing.” Maybe that’s the reason. Q. Have you ever considered giving up the guitar? A. Many times. Q. Why do you keep playing? A. Because one day, even if you’re sick of the guitar, you go onstage and things happen that you can’t explain. They call it inspiration or duende. You start playing, you feel everything flowing, something starts to gather in the air and nothing else will give you that kind of stimulation. No drug or sensation can compare to that, and once you’ve experienced it, there’s no way of giving it up. Q. Have you ever been afraid of failure at any point in your career? A. No. That’s very important. You should never worry about whether or not you’re going to make it, whether or not you’re going to become rich or famous. You have to play for your own enjoyment, because a musician can be the happiest person on earth with food in the pot and a bed to sleep on. Music itself is what’s going to make you happy. You’ll feel like a hero even though you’re broke. Stay home and work hard. Be disciplined and enjoy what you do. That’s the only way to make it, to make money and to become famous. Q. You’re working on a new recording. What’s the challenge for someone like you whose recordings are so legendary? A. The most important thing for me when I take on a new project is to create surprises. That’s what I look for: to go where nobody’s gone before in order to surprise the one who’s listening to me. It’s very difficult, because we all go to the same old places. The only way I can surprise others is to surprise myself. It’s not easy. Q. What’s left for you to do? A. Well, everything! The only thing I’ve done in life is to play the guitar. A very poor life; just imagine!
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