"I'd just play 'til my hands fell off. My parents would yell at me to stop because they couldn't stand the noise any more! I was terrible! It must have been hard for them to listen to me as a beginning drummer"
About this Quote
The parents’ yelling does double duty. On the surface it’s comic relief, a familiar scene of working-class sanity versus adolescent volume. Underneath, it’s an early portrait of what making loud music costs: it alienates the people closest to you before it ever impresses strangers. "They couldn't stand the noise any more" isn’t just about decibels; it’s about endurance, patience, and the awkward intimacy of hearing someone practice their way through being bad.
Castillo’s blunt self-assessment - "I was terrible!" - is the quiet flex. Musicians usually launder their beginnings into evidence of innate gift. He leans into cringe, which makes the commitment feel real. The last line, sympathizing with his parents, retrofits the story with adulthood: he’s not romanticizing nuisance; he’s acknowledging it. In a genre that sells rebellion, this is rebellion with consequences, and it’s the most believable kind of authenticity - the unpretty part you can’t edit out.
Quote Details
| Topic | Music |
|---|---|
| Source | Help us find the source |
| Cite |
Citation Formats
APA Style (7th ed.)
Castillo, Randy. (2026, January 16). I'd just play 'til my hands fell off. My parents would yell at me to stop because they couldn't stand the noise any more! I was terrible! It must have been hard for them to listen to me as a beginning drummer. FixQuotes. https://fixquotes.com/quotes/id-just-play-til-my-hands-fell-off-my-parents-105758/
Chicago Style
Castillo, Randy. "I'd just play 'til my hands fell off. My parents would yell at me to stop because they couldn't stand the noise any more! I was terrible! It must have been hard for them to listen to me as a beginning drummer." FixQuotes. January 16, 2026. https://fixquotes.com/quotes/id-just-play-til-my-hands-fell-off-my-parents-105758/.
MLA Style (9th ed.)
"I'd just play 'til my hands fell off. My parents would yell at me to stop because they couldn't stand the noise any more! I was terrible! It must have been hard for them to listen to me as a beginning drummer." FixQuotes, 16 Jan. 2026, https://fixquotes.com/quotes/id-just-play-til-my-hands-fell-off-my-parents-105758/. Accessed 12 Feb. 2026.



