I don't have a role model, but I certainly have always enjoyed Neil Young. I had the great pleasure and opportunity to watch him from the side of the stage on a couple of occasions, and his on-stage sound is incredible.

When I was a teenager, I learned that in order to play guitar like Johnny Ramone, it takes a huge amount of physical effort.

Most people just give up with time and go, "I'm a victim." The only reason I've got the reputation for delays and spending a long time on things is because I just don't stop.

Musically, I just think in terms of what's next. There's a lot of things I've always dreamed of doing, and I hope I get to them before I get too deaf.

I wasn't making music for the sake of music but rather making music in the context of other music. At the same time, it doesn't mean I'm not going to try and do that some day.

I do need to loosen up a bit, and that usually does come with old age. That's the intention.

A lot of people at my school could play the "Stairway to Heaven" guitar solo, but they couldn't play three chords of a Ramones song if their life depended on it because they didn't have the strength or ability to do it. But all I did was practice that, and the style that I eventually fell into is more focused than people would actually imagine.