Creativity Quote by Benmont Tench

There is a quiet rebellion in Tench's shruggy pragmatism: in a music industry obsessed with names, metrics, and “heat,” he’s arguing for the oldest credential in the room - curiosity. “Sometimes” does a lot of work here. It admits strategy exists, that reputations matter, that you often do call the famous friend. But it insists there’s another engine that still counts: the gut-level pull of a song, a sound, a person’s vibe in the studio. The line is almost anti-networking advice, delivered without sanctimony.

As a veteran keyboardist best known for playing inside other people’s spotlights (Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers, countless sessions), Tench is speaking from the working musician’s economy. Session culture runs on speed, trust, and taste; you’re hired for your ability to elevate a track, not your brand. That background makes his “never heard of” less naive than it looks. It’s a reminder that art scenes refresh themselves when established players take small risks on the unknown - not as charity, but because the unknown can be musically alive in a way the overbooked and overexposed sometimes aren’t.

The subtext is also personal: identity as craft rather than celebrity. Tench frames collaboration as appetite, not ladder-climbing. In an era when discovery is algorithmic and prestige is pre-sorted, he’s defending an analog impulse: you say yes because you want to, because it might be fun, because it might surprise you. That’s how new sounds slip past gatekeepers - through someone simply feeling like working.