It was endlessly amusing to me to try to imitate John Lennon and Paul McCartney's harmonies using the guitar.

If I'm writing... even a piece of a song... I write it down. If it still resonates six months down the line, a year, even five, those are the ones you put in your bag and you take to the studio. You come to realize, the ones that don't make it, they were only meant to live for that moment in your notebook or on the 4-track-and plenty of songs never get any farther than the 4-track.

It was endlessly amusing to me to try to imitate John Lennon and Paul McCartney's harmonies using the guitar.

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.

It's a hard thing to explain, but the more I arrange for strings, the more I realize the possibilities.

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.

I find that the time that goes by is actually your best friend when you are making a record. The passing of time gives you perspective on what you recorded and what you wrote. If something sounds good to you 12 months after you recorded it then chances are pretty good that there's something valuable about the part or the song.