Movin' On cont.

HS: Do you get ideas that fly into your head and then write them down?
BJ: No, I just play them on the piano, and if it’s a good idea, I usually remember it. It’s all filed away in my head. If it’s a good enough piece of music, I’ll try to come up with the lyrics. I don’t feel compelled to have to constantly do something with the material I write. What’s important to me for my own artistic fulfillment is just to create, whether people know about it or not—that’s not the point, as long as I know about it.

Joan Jedell, Billy Joel

HS: How did 9/11 change your life?
BJ: It was earth-shattering to me. I think I went into a very, very dark period after that. I’m still not past it, I don’t know how anybody really could be. The depth of that active hatred towards humanity is still beyond my comprehension. And I know some people are able to find it cathartic to write about 9/11, or create music about it—I haven’t been able to do that. It’s too profound a tragedy—I wouldn’t even call it a tragedy—it was an attack. It was an attack on all humanity, all mankind. It was an expression of such sheer, awesome hatred that it’s still depressing to me.

HS: What do you most and least like about yourself?
BJ: I’ve got a really good sense of humor and I like that. I’ve had a very amazing, interesting life, and it’s not over yet and I still get a kick out of it. It always amazes me—the things that have happened in my life. It’s outrageous and it’s incredible, but a lot of it is very funny, too. So I’m glad I’ve got the capacity to see it that way. My least favorite thing about myself, I guess, is my inability to stay in a long-term relationship, which I’m still going to try to do. I haven’t given up. I’m still putting it all together.


"My least favorite thing about myself, I guess, is my inability to stay in a long-term relationship, which I’m still going to try to do."

HS: What do you look for in a relationship?
BJ: Some things are indefinable. Some things you can chalk up to chemistry and compatibility and simpatico. That indefinable thing is something you can’t look for, it just occurs. It’s like music. You know it’s there when it’s there. You feel it.

HS: Has A&E ever asked you to do a biography?
BJ: Yeah, they have. I’ve done a “Behind the Music,” and they wanted to do a biography. Sometimes they’re fairly cliched. I don’t know if I’m all that interested in telling my story. I think you’ve got to reveal everything to have it be substantive. I’m not interested in everybody knowing every little thing about me.

HS: Keeping a little of the mystery?
BJ: I’ve learned that the more questions you’ve answered, the more tabloid stories tend to come out. I made the mistake once of revealing a little about my personal life and it turned into a tabloid story. It was horrible. That’s the last time I’ll ever do that. They turned it into a one-note samba, and I was horrified.

HS: Which publication was it?
BJ: It was The New York Times Magazine. It was terrible. I assumed they had some journalistic integrity, but I read this story and it could have been in The Star. I found that shocking.

HS: What qualities do you respect most in other people or in a relationship?
BJ: I think a consistent friendship is very, very important. Loyalty and friendship are what I value most. Through whatever kind of experiences people have, the fact that they remain friends and stay true to a friendship, I place a great deal of value on that.

HS: What’s your biggest regret?
BJ: Ever having hurt someone. Any pain that I’ve ever caused anybody, I regret.

HS: Do you beat yourself up for it?
BJ: Yup.

HS: I think you learn to let go...
BJ: Eventually...You move on in life. People who say they have no regrets I don’t believe have actually lived. I don’t buy that.


Hal Luftig, Michael Cavanaugh, Billy Joel, John Selya

Jill Nicklaus

Denise Rich, Clive Davis, Phil Ramone

 
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