I'm not a collector, however, and I have no desire to own 50 or 60 guitars.

I don't really think of Dire Straits as a sound, you know. It. just depends on the song, and the stuff we're doing is so varied.

I used to go to the school folk club with my songs when I was only 13 or so and say "this is a traditional folk song" and sing it with a bad Irish accent to disguise the real source.

I bad a piano long before I bad a guitar, and the practice I got just playing those three chords in a basic 12-bar blues song was very important.

My playing is fairly straightforward, really, and everything's pretty much standard no frills or special effects.

Then came the churches, then came the schools, then came the lawyers, then came the rules.

I'm also getting an Ovation Legend, because I like them so much.