I'm a minimalist at heart. If a song doesn't need a solo, I'm not going to force one into it.

First love is alright, as far as it goes. Last love – that’s the one I’m interested in.

A trumpet sounds pretty much like a trumpet, and that's true of a lot instruments; pianos sound like pianos, but there's something about the guitar - the range of possibilities is much broader.

Running my hands really fast up and down the fretboard... I mean, anybody can do that. It's the Guitar Olympics, and I can't think of anything more pointless.

Every album is difficult. If it was easy, we'd make one a month.

If there is a perfect book to start the year with it has to be Rebecca Mead's My Life in Middlemarch.

Rock and roll isn't a career or hobby - it's a life force ... it's just something I have to do.