The States were much more fun. L.A. was L.A. It's not L.A. now. L.A. infested with jaded 12-year-olds is not the L.A. that I really dug.

I realized what Led Zeppelin was about around the end of our first U.S. tour. We started off not even on the bill in Denver, and by the time we got to New York we were second to Iron Butterfly, and they didn't want to go on!

And there are certain songs that are really timepieces and shouldn't be touched. But some of them are a celebration of good humour and sensibility and I think that's okay. I don't care about the past, I'm a musician with ambition.

Don't be hard on yourself. And take as many chances, risks, as you can. You've got to be out there adventuring with the voice. Because if you're just a singer for the sake of it, it's not quite enough.

I treat everywhere as being a center from which I can enjoy the surroundings. And so Austin is very stimulating. I'm familiar with a lot of very charming people who have brought a lot of color to my life and a lot of love.

Boredom is a horrible thing.

I don't know how much more expressive you can get than being a rock and roll singer.