The Both’s Aimee Mann and Ted Leo – HuffPost 4.16.14

Mike Ragogna: What advice do you have for new artists?

Aimee Mann: Oh my God, Ted, you get it.

Ted Leo: Do something else.

MR: [laughs]

AM: I don’t know what somebody would do if they were just starting out. Honestly? Be good. Care. Give a s**t. Give a s**t about making good music because that will always resonate to other people who care. If all you care about is being famous, there’s no advice for you. I don’t know what to say. There are a million ways to become famous, none of them savory. It’s not that hard to become a notorious person, but caring about what you do will always resonate with you on some level.

TL: I could not have said that better.

MR: Wait Ted, it’s your turn!

TL: [laughs] I will just add that, for example, we didn’t set out doing this project with anything in mind other than crafting something that was really enjoyable for us to do and that we wanted to put a lot of work into making good. Whatever happens with that happens with it. Lord knows the music business is incredibly difficult these days. But never forget that whether you wind up making a living off of it or not, you’re making art and art is important in people’s lives. Like Aimee said, if you care about what you’re doing it’s going to reonate with somebody.