--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: From the very beginning, we were all a…" description: "\"From the very beginning, we were all a hundred and ten percent about the music, from the very early days when we could barely play our instruments, and..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/956/ed-kowalczyk-8908_beginning_from-the-very-beginning-we-were-all-a-hu_3209951.jpg" --- # From the very beginning, we were all a hundred and ten… ![“From the very beginning, we were all a hundred and ten percent about the music, from the very early days when we could barely play our instruments, and we were just covering other people's songs when we were in high school.” quote by Ed Kowalczyk](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/956/ed-kowalczyk-8908_beginning_from-the-very-beginning-we-were-all-a-hu_3209951.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/956/ed-kowalczyk-8908_beginning_from-the-very-beginning-we-were-all-a-hu_3209951.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/956/ed-kowalczyk-8908_beginning_from-the-very-beginning-we-were-all-a-hu_3209951.jpg) > “From the very beginning, we were all a hundred and ten percent about the music, from the very early days when we could barely play our instruments, and we were just covering other people's songs when we were in high school.” [Ed Kowalczyk](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ed-kowalczyk/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Early dedication to music, starting with covers, builds a foundation for original creativity. **In simple terms:** Starting with covers builds skill. Key Takeaway Practice covers, then create originals. Themes growth creativity learning music Mood reflective enthusiastic Type educational inspirational When to use this quote - band rehearsals - songwriting workshops - solo practice - performance gigs Key Concepts skill development artistic evolution self‑expression Questions to Reflect On - When did you transition to original work? - What cover taught you the most? A Different Perspective Overreliance on covers can hinder originality. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Barely Play](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/barely-play-5666394/) [Beginning](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/beginning/) [Early Days](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/early-days/) [High school](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/high-school/) [Instruments Just](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/instruments-just-1210573/) [Music](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/music/) [Music Early](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/music-early-265729/) [Music making](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/music-making/) [Percent Music](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/percent-music-3588455/) [School](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/school/) ## Related quotes > [I'm a human highlight reel, my knockouts are too hot for TV, they barely play 'em.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeremy-stephens/i-m-a-human-highlight-reel-my-knockouts-are-too-hot-for-tv-they/) [Jeremy Stephens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeremy-stephens/) > [But the reality is when you write a song, you should be able to strip away all the instruments and just have a song…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dweezil-zappa/but-the-reality-is-when-you-write-a-song-you-should-be-able-to-strip/) [Dweezil Zappa](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dweezil-zappa/) > [I come from an old school of thought where there are musicians on stage, in the house, sitting and jamming to create things. I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jubin-nautiyal/i-come-from-an-old-school-of-thought-where-there-are-musicians-on/) [Jubin Nautiyal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jubin-nautiyal/) > [“ Southerners don’t need instruments, they just use what they’ve got, like… Cigar boxes Tin cans Washboards ‘Shine jugs Spoons Hair combs Wood saws…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/deborah-ford/southerners-don-t-need-instruments-they-just-use-what-they-ve-got/) [Deborah Ford](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/deborah-ford/) > [Instruments are just planks of wood, or just computers or whatever, but they help us translate the most difficult aspects of life and make…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/declan-mckenna/instruments-are-just-planks-of-wood-or-just-computers-or-whatever-but/) [Declan McKenna](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/declan-mckenna/) > [I found a way to connect with lots of instruments rather than just fixating on one of them. I just loved making noise on…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jack-garratt/i-found-a-way-to-connect-with-lots-of-instruments-rather-than-just/) [Jack Garratt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jack-garratt/) > [As far as playing instruments, it just feels good to have it under your hands. Cause sometimes those instruments have minor imperfections. Sometimes because…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/borns/as-far-as-playing-instruments-it-just-feels-good-to-have-it-under/) [Borns](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/borns/) > [There's just something really, really timeless about live instruments. There's just something special about them that you can't really duplicate or grasp without including…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/miguel/there-s-just-something-really-really-timeless-about-live-instruments/) [Miguel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/miguel/) > [The reality of my life is it's about 25 percent music, and everything else I do is so I can get that 40 minutes…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maggie-rogers/the-reality-of-my-life-is-it-s-about-25-percent-music-and-everything/) [Maggie Rogers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maggie-rogers/) > [I mean, if you turn on the radio, love is 90 percent of the music.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/enrique-iglesias/i-mean-if-you-turn-on-the-radio-love-is-90-percent-of-the-music/) [Enrique Iglesias](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/enrique-iglesias/) > [Ninety-nine percent of the music that was of any interest to me when I was growing up came out of the black community.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-sanborn/ninety-nine-percent-of-the-music-that-was-of-any-interest-to-me-when/) [David Sanborn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-sanborn/) > [I make 99 percent of my music sitting down, in boxers, when I'm comfortable in my computer chair.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/partynextdoor/i-make-99-percent-of-my-music-sitting-down-in-boxers-when-i-m/) [PartyNextDoor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/partynextdoor/) > [Ninety percent of all music is always crap, and when too many people decide they're going to have guitar bands, then ninety percent of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-byrne/ninety-percent-of-all-music-is-always-crap-and-when-too-many-people/) [David Byrne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-byrne/) > [I don't think people realize that I produce like 90 percent of all my music, except for the songs that I co-produce with people.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/javale-mcgee/i-don-t-think-people-realize-that-i-produce-like-90-percent-of-all-my/) [JaVale McGee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/javale-mcgee/) > [Jazz is like a big secret club. The mainstream media doesn't pay any attention to it, it's like 1 percent of the music market…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-glasper/jazz-is-like-a-big-secret-club-the-mainstream-media-doesn-t-pay-any/) [Robert Glasper](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-glasper/) ## More by Ed Kowalczyk > [I've never had trouble finding inspiration for new songs, no matter what I'm doing.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ed-kowalczyk/i-ve-never-had-trouble-finding-inspiration-for-new-songs-no-matter/) [Ed Kowalczyk](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ed-kowalczyk/) > [I have always been cursed or blessed with this inability to hide behind anything and to just say exactly what I am experiencing.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ed-kowalczyk/i-have-always-been-cursed-or-blessed-with-this-inability-to-hide/) [Ed Kowalczyk](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ed-kowalczyk/) > [Those first big concerts we played as 'Throwing Copper' started to really reach people worldwide - I think we played our first big arena…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ed-kowalczyk/those-first-big-concerts-we-played-as-throwing-copper-started-to/) [Ed Kowalczyk](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ed-kowalczyk/) > [I remember people telling me that at 5 1/2 minutes long, 'Lightning Crashes' would never be a hit song.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ed-kowalczyk/i-remember-people-telling-me-that-at-5-1-2-minutes-long-lightning/) [Ed Kowalczyk](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ed-kowalczyk/) > [I consider our music a catalyst, something that might spark a thought or a question.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ed-kowalczyk/i-consider-our-music-a-catalyst-something-that-might-spark-a-thought/) [Ed Kowalczyk](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ed-kowalczyk/) > [What I think shines through for us is that we have a real respect for the music and a real reverence.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ed-kowalczyk/what-i-think-shines-through-for-us-is-that-we-have-a-real-respect-for/) [Ed Kowalczyk](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ed-kowalczyk/) > [I've always been into asking the big questions; I'm the last guy out the door at closing time cuz I was sittin' around 'til…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ed-kowalczyk/i-ve-always-been-into-asking-the-big-questions-i-m-the-last-guy-out/) [Ed Kowalczyk](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ed-kowalczyk/) > [You look at a song like 'Lightning Crashes,' and it's just so universal.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ed-kowalczyk/you-look-at-a-song-like-lightning-crashes-and-it-s-just-so-universal/) [Ed Kowalczyk](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ed-kowalczyk/) > [The way you perform really depends on the way you live your life. It's not two separate things.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ed-kowalczyk/the-way-you-perform-really-depends-on-the-way-you-live-your-life-it-s/) [Ed Kowalczyk](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ed-kowalczyk/) > [We've always been a band that questions things.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ed-kowalczyk/we-ve-always-been-a-band-that-questions-things/) [Ed Kowalczyk](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ed-kowalczyk/) > [I kind of spooked myself about getting older. It's not that bad really.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ed-kowalczyk/i-kind-of-spooked-myself-about-getting-older-it-s-not-that-bad-really/) [Ed Kowalczyk](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ed-kowalczyk/) > [We don't want Offspring-itis, Green Day-itis: you know, that thing where bands are all over the place at once, getting everything at once -…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ed-kowalczyk/we-don-t-want-offspring-itis-green-day-itis-you-know-that-thing-where/) [Ed Kowalczyk](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ed-kowalczyk/) > [“This world was just a dream\\ We were sleepin' now we are awake”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ed-kowalczyk/this-world-was-just-a-dream-we-were-sleepin-now-we-are-awake/) [Ed Kowalczyk](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ed-kowalczyk/) > [With 'Mental Jewelry,' we put a lot of pressure on ourselves to get something happening. I think we lost some of the personality in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ed-kowalczyk/with-mental-jewelry-we-put-a-lot-of-pressure-on-ourselves-to-get/) [Ed Kowalczyk](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ed-kowalczyk/) > [You're living in a fantasy to think that music can actually change something.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ed-kowalczyk/you-re-living-in-a-fantasy-to-think-that-music-can-actually-change/) [Ed Kowalczyk](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ed-kowalczyk/) [Explore all 77 Ed Kowalczyk quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ed-kowalczyk/) ## More Beginning quotes > [At the very beginning, I was a page at Letterman, and I freelanced for any place that would let me write any word. I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ben-schwartz/at-the-very-beginning-i-was-a-page-at-letterman-and-i-freelanced-for/) [Ben Schwartz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ben-schwartz/) > [People pay far too much attention to the television and they're quite literal in some ways. At the beginning, when I was playing very…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ardal-o-hanlon/people-pay-far-too-much-attention-to-the-television-and-they-re-quite/) [Ardal O'Hanlon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ardal-o-hanlon/) > [Every Finish Line is the beginning of a new race](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/every-finish-line-is-the-beginning-of-a-new-race/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Always keep the smile, because the smile is the beginning of love.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/adam-imad/always-keep-the-smile-because-the-smile-is-the-beginning-of-love/) [Adam Imad](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/adam-imad/) > [We are beginning to see intimations of this in the implantation of computer devices into the human body.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ray-kurzweil/we-are-beginning-to-see-intimations-of-this-in-the-implantation-of/) [Ray Kurzweil](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ray-kurzweil/) > [The only vocal training I had was playing with a tape recorder as a kid, and you know, doing the beginning of the 'Lone…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-buffer/the-only-vocal-training-i-had-was-playing-with-a-tape-recorder-as-a/) [Michael Buffer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-buffer/) > [January is the beginning of a new year for us in the Western world. Let us give to God what belongs to him: the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paula-white/january-is-the-beginning-of-a-new-year-for-us-in-the-western-world/) [Paula White](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paula-white/) > [In the beginning, if you look at those early label albums of the Chicks, we didn't write all that much. We had an A&R…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martie-maguire/in-the-beginning-if-you-look-at-those-early-label-albums-of-the/) [Martie Maguire](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martie-maguire/) > [You need more than a beginning if you're going to start a book. If all you have is a beginning, then once you've written…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neil-gaiman/you-need-more-than-a-beginning-if-you-re-going-to-start-a-book-if-all/) [Neil Gaiman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neil-gaiman/) > [When there is a mission before you, you see it from its beginning to its conclusion.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jesse-white/when-there-is-a-mission-before-you-you-see-it-from-its-beginning-to/) [Jesse White](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jesse-white/) > [When God made the world, all things began with him. Life, death, it all began when he said so. That includes you and me…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/manae-poet-of-carisis/when-god-made-the-world-all-things-began-with-him-life-death-it-all/) [Manae Poet Of Carisis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/manae-poet-of-carisis/) > [From the beginning at Intel, we planned on being big.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-noyce/from-the-beginning-at-intel-we-planned-on-being-big/) [Robert Noyce](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-noyce/) > [In the very beginning, Yelp started as a service where we really didn't think people would write reviews for fun. The whole concept of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeremy-stoppelman/in-the-very-beginning-yelp-started-as-a-service-where-we-really-didn/) [Jeremy Stoppelman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeremy-stoppelman/) > [Some projects feel like the stars are aligning for them from the very beginning.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gregory-smith/some-projects-feel-like-the-stars-are-aligning-for-them-from-the-very/) [Gregory Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gregory-smith/) > [Do not judge me by my beginning, Only by my end, Nor by the path I took, But where it led me](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jacklyn-h-lucas/do-not-judge-me-by-my-beginning-only-by-my-end-nor-by-the-path-i-took/) [Jacklyn H Lucas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jacklyn-h-lucas/) [Browse all 3,566 Beginning quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/beginning/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "From the very beginning, we were all a hundred and ten percent about the music, from the very early days when we could barely play our instruments, and we were just covering other people's songs when we were in high school.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Ed Kowalczyk" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ed-kowalczyk/from-the-very-beginning-we-were-all-a-hundred-and-ten-percent-about/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Beginning" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ed-kowalczyk/from-the-very-beginning-we-were-all-a-hundred-and-ten-percent-about/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/956/ed-kowalczyk-8908_beginning_from-the-very-beginning-we-were-all-a-hu_3209951.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/956/ed-kowalczyk-8908_beginning_from-the-very-beginning-we-were-all-a-hu_3209951.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/956/ed-kowalczyk-8908_beginning_from-the-very-beginning-we-were-all-a-hu_3209951.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“From the very beginning, we were all a hundred and ten percent about the music, from the very early days…” — Ed Kowalczyk", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } }, { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Quotes", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "Ed Kowalczyk", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ed-kowalczyk/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "From the very beginning, we were...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ed-kowalczyk/from-the-very-beginning-we-were-all-a-hundred-and-ten-percent-about/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ed-kowalczyk/from-the-very-beginning-we-were-all-a-hundred-and-ten-percent-about/#breadcrumb" }, { "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "publisher": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } }, { "@type": "Organization", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "logo": { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png", "width": 512, "height": 512 } } ] } ```