I don't like the way recording to digital sounds. Most of the time when I'm recording to 2-inch tape, I still have a romantic vision of how songs sounded coming out of the radio when I was younger, and how they sounded coming out of my little four-track cassette player.

I learned a long time ago that fame and money is not a ticket to happiness.

I went every Sunday to church when I was growing up, and I think that music had an affect on me before my memory can recall.

The way that I'm working now is basically the way I've been working since I was a kid: Find the greatest artist in whatever you do, and rip them off with respect. I think there's a big difference between ripping off with respect and ripping off in disrespect.

If you think of the way Howlin' Wolf made records, you get the feeling there wasn't a production manager onsite, or a publicist having his say on how he should sing the songs. When you listen to his records, you feel like you're tapping into his voice.

The production process has a great way of bringing songs to light and that's a big part of it.

I love the sound of Elmore James, the sound early guitarists like him got just by using minimal means.