--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: A professional music career goes in…" description: "\"A professional music career goes in starts and stops. Around 2000 I was doing a Broadway show and that was some real good energy.\" — Gregory Porter" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/86d/gregory-porter-10292_broadway_a-professional-music-career-goes-in-star_1783328.jpg" --- # A professional music career goes in starts and stops… ![“A professional music career goes in starts and stops. Around 2000 I was doing a Broadway show and that was some real good energy.” quote by Gregory Porter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/86d/gregory-porter-10292_broadway_a-professional-music-career-goes-in-star_1783328.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/86d/gregory-porter-10292_broadway_a-professional-music-career-goes-in-star_1783328.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/86d/gregory-porter-10292_broadway_a-professional-music-career-goes-in-star_1783328.jpg) > “A professional music career goes in starts and stops. Around 2000 I was doing a Broadway show and that was some real good energy.” [Gregory Porter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gregory-porter/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Creative careers are cyclical, with periods of intense activity followed by quieter phases, each offering distinct energy. **In simple terms:** Music careers have highs and lows. Key Takeaway Embrace both active and reflective periods. Themes creativity career cycles energy performance music Mood reflective optimistic Type inspirational practical When to use this quote - tour planning - studio recording - personal downtime Key Concepts flow theory career development Questions to Reflect On - How do you stay inspired during lulls? - What can you learn from quieter times? A Different Perspective Periods of inactivity may feel like setbacks. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [2000 Doing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/2000-doing-1881005/) [Broadway](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/broadway/) [Broadway Real](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/broadway-real-1881004/) [Broadway show](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/broadway-show/) [Career](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/career/) [Doing Broadway](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/doing-broadway-287637/) [Energy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/energy/) [Good](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/good/) [Good energy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/good-energy/) [Music](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/music/) [Music career](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/music-career/) [Professional Music](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/professional-music-958485/) [Real](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/real/) ## Related quotes > [“When I told Mark about Jordan, he agreed that an obsessive focus on the quality of what you produce is the rule in professional…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cal-newport/when-i-told-mark-about-jordan-he-agreed-that-an-obsessive-focus-on/) [Cal Newport](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cal-newport/) > [And this is the origin of pop music: it's a professional music which draws upon both folk music and fine arts music as well.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pete-seeger/and-this-is-the-origin-of-pop-music-it-s-a-professional-music-which/) [Pete Seeger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pete-seeger/) > [But the focus for actors is always towards acting. It is very obvious that they don't need to have training in professional music.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ankit-tiwari/but-the-focus-for-actors-is-always-towards-acting-it-is-very-obvious/) [Ankit Tiwari](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ankit-tiwari/) > [I am less instinctive as I try to be more professional - about the music, about the sound.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/francois-truffaut/i-am-less-instinctive-as-i-try-to-be-more-professional-about-the/) [Francois Truffaut](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/francois-truffaut/) > [My mother gave me the courage to pursue music as a career on her deathbed. She became very ill when I was 21. I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gregory-porter/my-mother-gave-me-the-courage-to-pursue-music-as-a-career-on-her/) [Gregory Porter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gregory-porter/) > [ I got an email from Nick \[Kroll\] that he and John \[Mulaney\] were looking to put on the stage show with two of their… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alex-timbers/i-got-an-email-from-nick-kroll-that-he-and-john-mulaney-were-looking/) [Alex Timbers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alex-timbers/) > [Everything I did growing up was with that as the real goal - doing Broadway; doing theatre. That was always the big thrill for…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jennifer-westfeldt/everything-i-did-growing-up-was-with-that-as-the-real-goal-doing/) [Jennifer Westfeldt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jennifer-westfeldt/) > [There's just nothing funnier or crazier than that - doing your Broadway debut as Spider-Man in 'Spider-Man' the musical. It was, like, the last…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jake-epstein/there-s-just-nothing-funnier-or-crazier-than-that-doing-your-broadway/) [Jake Epstein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jake-epstein/) > [I am always in much better shape when I am doing a Broadway show because you have the eight shows a week to kind…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jane-krakowski/i-am-always-in-much-better-shape-when-i-am-doing-a-broadway-show/) [Jane Krakowski](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jane-krakowski/) > [It's always been a dream of mine to do a voice for a Disney movie. I think Disney movies and theater are very closely…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexa-ray-joel/it-s-always-been-a-dream-of-mine-to-do-a-voice-for-a-disney-movie-i/) [Alexa Ray Joel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexa-ray-joel/) > [To be an English person in my 20s, doing a Broadway show - it's one of the mountains I wanted to climb.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-sturridge/to-be-an-english-person-in-my-20s-doing-a-broadway-show-it-s-one-of/) [Tom Sturridge](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-sturridge/) > [I got the regular call, that they were doing a Broadway musical of Hairspray, and would I come and audition. I was familiar with…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harvey-fierstein/i-got-the-regular-call-that-they-were-doing-a-broadway-musical-of/) [Harvey Fierstein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/harvey-fierstein/) > [Even before Pentatonix, I always thought that I would be out here in New York doing Broadway and doing musical theater. That was what…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kirstin-maldonado/even-before-pentatonix-i-always-thought-that-i-would-be-out-here-in/) [Kirstin Maldonado](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kirstin-maldonado/) > [I remember doing Broadway, I started Broadway in 2005, and, of course, I sing two songs in the play, 'Hairspray'.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tevin-campbell/i-remember-doing-broadway-i-started-broadway-in-2005-and-of-course-i/) [Tevin Campbell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tevin-campbell/) > [When somebody mentions that I did a play with George C. Scott, I'm like, it can't have happened. What was I doing on a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-dano/when-somebody-mentions-that-i-did-a-play-with-george-c-scott-i-m-like/) [Paul Dano](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-dano/) ## More by Gregory Porter > [Sometimes I'll be in circles, and I'll say I'm a jazz singer, and they have no idea what that means.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gregory-porter/sometimes-i-ll-be-in-circles-and-i-ll-say-i-m-a-jazz-singer-and-they/) [Gregory Porter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gregory-porter/) > [Because I am away so much, I try to establish home in people, rather than places. For example, wherever I get together with my…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gregory-porter/because-i-am-away-so-much-i-try-to-establish-home-in-people-rather/) [Gregory Porter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gregory-porter/) > [Nat King Cole's lyrics were speaking to me, almost like fatherly advice, when I was listening to him alongside the console stereo player. So…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gregory-porter/nat-king-cole-s-lyrics-were-speaking-to-me-almost-like-fatherly/) [Gregory Porter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gregory-porter/) > [The songs I write and the way I see the world have been affected a certain amount since I became a father.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gregory-porter/the-songs-i-write-and-the-way-i-see-the-world-have-been-affected-a/) [Gregory Porter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gregory-porter/) > [My mother gave me the courage to pursue music as a career on her deathbed. She became very ill when I was 21. I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gregory-porter/my-mother-gave-me-the-courage-to-pursue-music-as-a-career-on-her/) [Gregory Porter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gregory-porter/) > [I like to absorb the atmosphere and explore wherever I'm working or visiting, so I can't say there's any type of place I don't…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gregory-porter/i-like-to-absorb-the-atmosphere-and-explore-wherever-i-m-working-or/) [Gregory Porter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gregory-porter/) > [It's been some surreal moments, you know from performing at Buckingham Palace to having dinner with Stevie Wonder, it's been an amazing ride.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gregory-porter/it-s-been-some-surreal-moments-you-know-from-performing-at-buckingham/) [Gregory Porter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gregory-porter/) > [You know Bakersfield was full of workers from the south, from Texas and Arkansas, and they brought their gospel and blues with them. And…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gregory-porter/you-know-bakersfield-was-full-of-workers-from-the-south-from-texas/) [Gregory Porter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gregory-porter/) > [Writing from a personal experience can bring about this emotion and power of emotion that can be instantly connected to the instrument, my voice.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gregory-porter/writing-from-a-personal-experience-can-bring-about-this-emotion-and/) [Gregory Porter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gregory-porter/) > [How can you sing a line like, 'I've fallen out of love' when you're 18? You need to experience something of life before you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gregory-porter/how-can-you-sing-a-line-like-i-ve-fallen-out-of-love-when-you-re-18/) [Gregory Porter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gregory-porter/) > [When there's an imbalance in terms of what people get to hear, then that's negative. Then blues, jazz, it will die.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gregory-porter/when-there-s-an-imbalance-in-terms-of-what-people-get-to-hear-then/) [Gregory Porter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gregory-porter/) > [My part of Brooklyn has always been a very warm neighbourhood, even before I had anything going on in the music industry. When I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gregory-porter/my-part-of-brooklyn-has-always-been-a-very-warm-neighbourhood-even/) [Gregory Porter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gregory-porter/) > ['Take Me to the Alley' is about trying to uplift the lives of people who have been afflicted, maybe the homeless or somebody with…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gregory-porter/take-me-to-the-alley-is-about-trying-to-uplift-the-lives-of-people/) [Gregory Porter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gregory-porter/) > [I can sing the blues and I have sung the blues. I feel it internally when I'm singing.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gregory-porter/i-can-sing-the-blues-and-i-have-sung-the-blues-i-feel-it-internally/) [Gregory Porter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gregory-porter/) > [I was quite shy as a child. My sisters were the gang leaders, my brothers were the enforcers and I was a tag-a-long.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gregory-porter/i-was-quite-shy-as-a-child-my-sisters-were-the-gang-leaders-my/) [Gregory Porter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gregory-porter/) [Explore all 66 Gregory Porter quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gregory-porter/) ## More Broadway quotes > [When somebody mentions that I did a play with George C. Scott, I'm like, it can't have happened. What was I doing on a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-dano/when-somebody-mentions-that-i-did-a-play-with-george-c-scott-i-m-like/) [Paul Dano](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-dano/) > [I thought my first few jobs would just be off, off, off, off, off broadway. And by chance and how the world works, I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tommy-dorfman/i-thought-my-first-few-jobs-would-just-be-off-off-off-off-off/) [Tommy Dorfman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tommy-dorfman/) > [A lot of Broadway has that immigrant narrative of America as a place where you can become something else against all odds.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/deborah-kass/a-lot-of-broadway-has-that-immigrant-narrative-of-america-as-a-place/) [Deborah Kass](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/deborah-kass/) > [I would love to go back to Broadway.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/katie-finneran/i-would-love-to-go-back-to-broadway/) [Katie Finneran](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/katie-finneran/) > [“On Broadway it was still bright afternoon and the gassy air was almost motionless under the leaden spokes of sunlight, and sawdust footprints lay…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/saul-bellow/on-broadway-it-was-still-bright-afternoon-and-the-gassy-air-was/) [Saul Bellow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/saul-bellow/) > [That's why I had to leave Hair on Broadway, because I did it for about a year, and one night I was doing the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barry-mcguire/that-s-why-i-had-to-leave-hair-on-broadway-because-i-did-it-for-about/) [Barry McGuire](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barry-mcguire/) > [I starred in a Broadway play that was Sidney Poitier's first directing job and the cast was Lou Gossett, Cicely Tyson, Diana Ladd and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-steinberg/i-starred-in-a-broadway-play-that-was-sidney-poitier-s-first/) [David Steinberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-steinberg/) > [All of a sudden, I was a young kid in my early 20s, and I had a couple of Broadway shows to my credit.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jon-tenney/all-of-a-sudden-i-was-a-young-kid-in-my-early-20s-and-i-had-a-couple/) [Jon Tenney](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jon-tenney/) > [When I was little, I saw the play 'Les Miserables' on Broadway, I thought it was the most amazing thing I have ever seen.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ashley-tisdale/when-i-was-little-i-saw-the-play-les-miserables-on-broadway-i-thought/) [Ashley Tisdale](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ashley-tisdale/) > [I never thought my life's path would take me to Broadway, but when I heard they were creating a musical based on one of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lorrie-morgan/i-never-thought-my-life-s-path-would-take-me-to-broadway-but-when-i/) [Lorrie Morgan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lorrie-morgan/) > [I aspired from early on to write a novel, to be in the 'New Yorker,' to be on Broadway, and at least in a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-o-donnell/i-aspired-from-early-on-to-write-a-novel-to-be-in-the-new-yorker-to/) [Mark O'Donnell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-o-donnell/) > [The Beatles have a deeper appreciation of all music. There's a humor, there's a Broadway sense, and later on, the Indian stuff came in.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jimmy-vivino/the-beatles-have-a-deeper-appreciation-of-all-music-there-s-a-humor/) [Jimmy Vivino](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jimmy-vivino/) > [I remember going onstage on Broadway in this Leigh Bowery thing for a track like "Ich Bin Kunst." I've got breasts, this latex dripping…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/boy-george/i-remember-going-onstage-on-broadway-in-this-leigh-bowery-thing-for-a/) [Boy George](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/boy-george/) > [I am an off-Broadway, nonprofit kind of guy.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-lapine/i-am-an-off-broadway-nonprofit-kind-of-guy/) [James Lapine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-lapine/) > [I never wanted to just be on Broadway, I wanted to be Simba.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/caleb-mclaughlin/i-never-wanted-to-just-be-on-broadway-i-wanted-to-be-simba/) [Caleb McLaughlin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/caleb-mclaughlin/) [Browse all 1,139 Broadway quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/broadway/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "A professional music career goes in starts and stops. 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