I grew up listening to albums by Pink Floyd, Led Zeppelin and Jimi Hendrix, and they all worked on that multi-layered level.

That's always been a dream for me, to be able to collaborate and make music with the people that inspired you to make music.

You feel different every day of your life. You just have to create your own space to survive, personally and professionally.

The better your base is, and the more you know from experience, the better off you'll be when you try and make the big move.

A band isn't a band unless they're playing together. Otherwise it's just five guys that are living off their royalty checks.

I need people to call me, I never remember to call anyone - otherwise I'll just sit in my house and listen to music all day.

You don't want to pitch a tent and live inside the Louvre. You want to check it out, appreciate it, and move somewhere else.

I have to work at tunes to get them to come out. Sometimes I'll sit there for four or five hours and get absolutely nothing.

A violin is tuned to a fifth. But a guitar is tuned to a fourth with a one-third middle. It is very perplexing to composers.

You're never static as a performer. You either get better or you get worse. As I see it, you have an equal chance at either.

When I was growing up, my idea of Led Zeppelin was all epic lasers, castles, and ten-minute drum solos - that sort of thing.

One of my interests is to understand what constitutes the vibe of a place and what makes one concert different from another.

If I write for myself, I write a song and I bring in the musicians that are best suited to play it. There's a freedom there.

For me, success is being able to give back to your friends, your family, your community, those in need and the world entire.

I was never going to be very cute. I always looked for the best people to play with and, 'cause, to make myself look better.

Have a good work ethic. You've got to practice, practice, practice. I'm not telling you what to practice - that's up to you.

We may not be proud of every song we've ever done - or been forced to do - but I believe we've done more than meets the eye.

In my early days, I never used finger vibrato at all. I originally carved my reputation as one of the 'fast' guitar players.

It was an experience being on a Beatles tour. They weren't very good. The singing was great, but the playing was a bit weak.

I smoked 20 cigarettes to get that sound because I'd read that John Lennon smoked a load of cigarettes on "Twist and Shout".

By the time I did that third solo album, I'd finally learned how to do it, but I'd also learned that I liked being in a band

I prefer a good review. A bad review that dismisses us... I take it with a grain of salt. I go, 'Okay, they didn't even try.'

I'm not a pacifist. I feel that there are situations where fighting is inescapable, but we don't go looking for those things.

There are some decision-makers in the world whose version of sanity is a little different from what I consider the right one.

I believe in this country [the USA], I love this country, I believe in the idea of this country, and this country is an idea.

When I meet a woman, I don't think, 'Gee, I wonder if she's read the latest thesis by Stephen Hawking? I think, 'Great tits.'

I voted for President Bush, I voted for President Clinton, and, although I do want my vote back, I voted for President Obama.

Maybe it's just parenthood that puts you in a situation where you just have to develop a new attitude, I guess, about things.

I thought it would be fun to write a song where a bunch of my favorite guitarists contributed, so I started 'Valley of Fire.'

I've never stuck around long enough to know if anyone would miss me. That's rock 'n' roll, though. Here today, gone tomorrow.

There's not a word that describes us. We’re not alternative, metal or grunge - we’re not any of that. We’re just what we are.

A band isn't a band unless they're playing together. Otherwise, it's just five guys that are living off their royalty checks.

When Tom Morello picks up the guitar, I'm sure what he sees is totally different from what I do, but I love the way he plays.

Guitars are fun. There are plenty of different kinds to play. They look cool. They sound cool. Don't you want to play guitar?

It's funny how you can struggle with one piece and write a better one in a minute. When things come easy, it means it's good.

If you're always playing the correct notes, there's something wrong - you're not searching; you're not reaching for anything.

I write songs because I have to write them, and if I didn't I'd be doing some other kind of music that didn't require a song.

But I think I know just as many creative people who've never taken drugs in their life as I do who have taken a lot of drugs.

The mustache represented the old John; I didn't want to be that guy anymore, so I shaved it off. It was ritualistic in a way.

Early on in my career, I was really into the volume pedal techniques that somebody like Steve Howe or Alex Lifeson would use.

I was the one who was always scowling, downcast. I tried to make sure I looked like that when I was getting my picture taken.

I definitely associate music with color. For example, my first record has a red cover but it is totally green and blue to me.

I get to travel around the world and meet all of these amazing people, and they're singing my songs! And to me, that's crazy.

I have made stage adjustments which allow me to hear myself better onstage so that has made playing live much more enjoyable.

My favorite photos are the ones where people don't really see me. I'm more interested in looking at people looking at things.

I'm damn successful but I got here by not taking crap. I still don't take crap, so if anybody needs a champion, let it be me.

I feel like such an idiot... you know, that our band didn't break up just so we can re-form and become more and more popular.

The perception of the audience is the interesting part. If the audience doesn't hear what is going on, is it going on or not?

I'm get really into jackets from movies, Keanu Reeves' jackets and that, I don't know why, I just have such a thing for them.

There are so many great songwriters that I love and respect, it's an honor to get the opportunity to sing any of their songs.

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