Mike Rutheford – HuffPost 10.31.14

Mike Ragogna: Mike, do you have any advice for new aritsts?

Mike Rutherford: Yeah, just be patient. Believe in yourself and remember when you’re writing songs, it’s not how many songs you’ve got, it’s how many good ones. I meet guys who say to me, “I’ve got a hundred songs,” and I say to them, “You’ve probably got five good ones. The rest you should be throwing away.” Discard more than you keep, and be patient.

Ragogna: Did you guys discard more than you kept?

Rutherford: Yeah, lots. After the Peter era we’d improvise and jam and then if something didn’t work, that would be out the door and you’d never hear it again.

Ragogna: Are there melodies where you’re now like, “Hmm, maybe these needs to be fininshed.”

Rutherford: Not me. I always live in the now. Forget the old stuff, you know.