Timothy B. Schmit

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.

I didn't really think too much about being any kind of pioneer. The truth is, I actually kind of caught onto a couple of really great coat tails in my career. The things were already moving when I got involved in both cases, really - Poco and the Eagles.

I got to see The Beatles a couple of times. In fact, I saw their last performance ever in San Francisco. The Beatles were massive to me - I learned so much from them.

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.

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.

Wherever your musical interest takes you, whether it's just in your garage or in your shower, never forget why you started. Keep that first and foremost in your mind.

I have an interest in Native American artifacts, mainly Plains Indians from the 1840s to the 1900s, and I go in and out of that. I get really into it, and then I put it down, but it's surrounding me.

I traveled a lot, but we didn't hire nannies to take care of our kids. We were both very hands-on. My wife did the lion's share because I traveled a lot, but it was important to us to do our best.

We all go through different mood changes. I'm just a person; I've got all those emotions going like everybody else, and sometimes it gets the better of you.

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.

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.

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.