I always felt if we were going in to do an album, there should already be a lot of structure already made up so we could get on with that and see what else happened.

I'm not afraid of death. That is the greatest mystery of all. That'll be it, that one. But it is all a race against time.

The way I see it, rock & roll is folk music. Street music. It isn't taught in school. It has to be picked up.

If I ever really felt depressed, I would just start putting on all my old records that I played as a kid, because the whole thing that really lifted me then still lifted me during those other times. It was good medicine for me, and it still does that for me when I put something on. Isn't it wonderful that we've got all that good medicine? I think it's got to be all part of our DNA, this mass communication through music. That's what it is. It's got to be, hasn't it? Music is the one thing that has been consistently there for me. It hasn't let me down.

I'm not a guitarist as far as a technician goes, I just pick it up and play it. Technique doesn't come into it.

I may not believe in myself, but I believe in what I'm doing.

There's a very old recording maxim that goes, 'Distance makes depth.' I've used that a hell of a lot-whether it's tracking guitars or the whole band. People are used to close-miking amps, but I'd have a mic out around the back, as well, and then balance the two. Also, you shouldn't have to use EQ in the studio if the instruments sound right. You should be able to get the right tones simply with the science of microphone placement.