Editing Tom Waits (section)

===Stage persona===
Waits has been determined to keep a distance between his public persona and his personal life.{{sfn|Humphries|2007|p=296}} According to Hoskyns, Waits hides behind his persona, noting that "Tom Waits is as much of a character created for his fans as it is a real man."{{sfn|Hoskyns|2009|p=xvii}} In Hoskyns's view, Waits's self-image is in part "a self-protective device, a screen to deflect attention."{{sfn|Hoskyns|2009|p=176}} A few music journalists have gone so far as to suggest that Waits is a "poseur".{{sfnm|1a1=Humphries|1y=2007|1pp=xii, 87|2a1=Hoskyns|2y=2009|2p=147}} Hoskyns regarded Waits's "persona of the skid-row boho/hobo, a young man out of time and place" as an "ongoing experiment in performance art."{{sfn|Hoskyns|2009|p=xx}} He added that Waits has adopted a "self-appointed role as the bard of the streets."{{sfn|Hoskyns|2009|p=156}} Mick Brown, a music journalist from ''Sounds'' who interviewed Waits in the mid-1970s, noted that "he had immersed himself in this character to the point where it ''wasn't'' an act and had become an identity."{{sfn|Hoskyns|2009|p=151}} Louie Lista, a friend of Waits's during the 1970s, stated that the singer's general attitude was that of "I'm an outsider, but I'll ''revel'' in being an outsider."{{sfn|Hoskyns|2009|p=127}} In a similar manner to contemporaries like Bob Dylan and Neil Young, Waits is known for cutting contact with figures he worked with in his past.{{sfn|Hoskyns|2009|p=451}}

{{Quote box
| quote = "There ain't no Devil, there's just God when he's drunk."<br/>"I don't have a drinking problem, 'cept when I can't get a drink."<br>"Everybody I like is either dead or not feeling very well."<br>"I'm so broke I can't even pay attention."<br>"You have to keep busy, after all, no dog ever pissed on a moving car."<br>"I don't care who I have to step on on my way down."
| source=— Waits quotations which Humphries called "Waitsisms"{{sfn|Humphries|2007|p=217}}
| align = left
| width = 25em
}}

Another friend from that period, Troubadour-manager Robert Marchese, related that Waits cultivated "the whole mystique of this really funky dude and all that [[Charles Bukowski]] crap" to give "his impression of how funky poor folk really are," whereas in reality Waits was "basically a middle-class, San Diego mom-and-pop-schoolteacher kid."{{sfn|Hoskyns|2009|p=127}} Humphries thought that there was a "conservative element" to Waits's persona, stating that behind his public image, "Waits has always been more of a white-picket-fence kind of guy than you might imagine."{{sfn|Humphries|2007|p=134}}

Jarmusch described Waits as "a very contradictory character," stating that he is "potentially violent if he thinks someone is ''screwing'' with him, but he's gentle and kind too."{{sfnm|1a1=Humphries|1y=2007|1p=185|2a1=Hoskyns|2y=2009|2p=xxii}} [[Herbert Hardesty]], who worked with Waits on ''Blue Valentine'', called him "a very pleasant human being, a very nice person."{{sfn|Hoskyns|2009|p=207}} Humphries referred to him as "an essentially reticent man&nbsp;... reflective and surprisingly shy."{{sfn|Humphries|2007|p=xiii}} He has a sense of humor and enjoys jokes.{{sfn|Humphries|2007|p=92}} Hoskyns described Waits as "unequivocally—some would say almost gruffly—heterosexual."{{sfn|Hoskyns|2009|p=141}}

Hoskyns suggested that Waits has had an "on-off affair with alcohol, never quite able to shake it off."{{sfn|Hoskyns|2009|pp=346–347}} During the 1970s, he was known as a heavy drinker and a smoker but avoided any drugs harder than cocaine.{{sfn|Hoskyns|2009|p=138}} He told one interviewer, "I discovered alcohol at an early age, and that guided me a lot."{{sfn|Humphries|2007|p=25}} Humphries suggested that Waits's use of alcohol as opposed to illicit drugs marked him out as being different from many of his contemporaries on the 1970s U.S. music scene.{{sfn|Humphries|2007|pp=75–76}}

During interviews, Waits has avoided questions about his personal life, gone off on tangents, and thrown in trivia.{{sfn|Humphries|2007|p=295}} Humphries noted that Waits has often supplied interviewers with "droll one-liners", something he termed "Waitsisms", observing that the singer was "dripping with wit and vinegar."{{sfn|Humphries|2007|p=217}} Waits is known for getting irate with journalists.{{sfn|Hoskyns|2009|p=455}}
He dislikes touring,{{sfnm|1a1=Humphries|1y=2007|1p=298|2a1=Hoskyns|2y=2009|2p=155}} but Hoskyns added that Waits has "a strong work ethic".{{sfn|Hoskyns|2009|p=160}}

In concert, Waits tended to wear all black. Humphries noted that "on stage, Waits is a consummate performer, a raconteur of the recherché, and a genuine wit."{{sfn|Humphries|2007|pp=60, 76}} Waits has stated that a performance should be "a spectacle and entertaining".{{sfn|Hoskyns|2009|p=103}} It was on his 1977 tour for ''Foreign Affairs'' that he started employing props as part of his routine;{{sfn|Hoskyns|2009|p=198}} one recurring prop was a megaphone through which he would shout at the audience.{{sfn|Humphries|2007|p=299}}