Mickey Hart

“The point is that the arts are important enough to have influenced the greatest minds and talents we know. Albert Einstein said that if he were not a physicist, he would probably be a musician.”

“Life is about rhythm. We vibrate, our hearts are pumping blood, we are a rhythm machine, that's what we are.”

“I hated science in high school. Technology? Engineering? Math? Why would I ever need this? Little did I realize that music was also about science, technology, engineering and mathematics, all rolled into one.”

“I thought the '60s was the most exciting time and the most vital music, and we were really together as one mind then. Then afterwards, the songs and the bad drugs, that took its toll.”

“Egyptian drumming happens to be a favorite of mine. It's a really simple instrument, but it's really difficult to play. You can take it anywhere with you - you can play it in your room, in an airport. It's very quiet, so you explore the quiet side.”

“There's nothing like music to relieve the soul and uplift it.”

“Yeah, I miss the Grateful Dead. I miss that groove. I miss the brotherhood. Absolutely. There's no doubt about it.”

“When I heard Grateful Dead music, I knew that it was the most powerful force on the planet.”

“The Grateful Dead were very kind. It was Santa Claus. It did good things. It allowed other people to benefit. The benefits that we played were enormous, and we played free. So you've got a band that loves to play free, and that was a wonderful thing.”

“What is the best music is impossible to define. Just because it's played by a virtuoso player, doesn't mean it's great music. It might not reflect the soul of a people, which is really my criteria for great music.”

“Art in the classroom not only spurs creativity, it also inspires learning.”

“There were many times during our career when he could've quit and done something else. But he knew that his power was with the Grateful Dead. He didn't want to go solo. Jerry was a groupist. He loved to group.”

“In the beginning, there was noise. Noise begat rhythm, and rhythm begat everything else.”

“People will always try to find themselves and their place in the world.”

“Dreams sometimes foretell the future.”

“When the Grateful Dead needed a quality sound system to deliver our sonic payload, I learned electronics and speaker design.”