I can't read music. Instead, I'd do stuff inside the piano, do harmonics and all kinds of crazy things. They used to put me in these annual piano contests down at Long Beach City College, and two years in a row, I won first prize - out of like 5,000 kids!

If I can help a kid discover a liking, or even a passion for music in their life, then that’s a wonderful thing.

Bass is for people who can't play guitar

I wanted a Gibson type sound, but with a Strat vibrato ... I bought a body from Charvel for $50.00 and a neck for $80.00 - I slapped it together, put an old Gibson PAF in it and painted it up with the stripes

Music is for people. The word 'pop' is simply short for popular. It means that people like it. I'm just a normal jerk who happens to make music. As long as my brain and fingers work, I'm cool.

We're musicians. We make music for a living. It's that simple. Nothing else matters.

Some people think a song without words isn't a real song. Tell that to Beethoven and he'll kick your ass!