I didn't want to fall into the trap of competing with all these other great guitar players. I just want to sidestep the whole thing and get out of the race.

Basically I just had to say, 'Screw everyone around me - from now on I'm just gonna play what I think is important to me and our music.' So I gave the big finger to all the current trends in technical wizardry, and just went off and did what I felt was best for the songs.

When you're first starting out, there's always the temptation to hide behind distortion because it lets you get away with murder. But, when it comes to rhythm work, you've gotta back off that gain control a bit, especially if you're playing with another guitarist.

We never see ourselves as being on a higher level than our fans.

Guitar playing is both extremely easy for me and extremely difficult for me at the same time.

The movie 'Black Cat,' from 1934, is one of my favorite movies.

I was really, really wild in my early twenties and a bit self-destructive.