A rock band with vocals is what I always wanted to be a part of; in fact, it feels very natural for me.
To me, you had to have a least a couple of ugly guys in the band. That's why Saxon was great.
I'm not a reader myself, so I don't expect anyone else to be.
Teaching the guitar is a constant source of inspiration. I sometimes think I get more out of the lessons than my students.
Philosophically, I think riffs that start with E repeating itself are almost guaranteed to be great.
Yeah, my very first teacher when I was 6 was a big influence, because it was so boring that I quit guitar.
My guitar playing was born from playing in my teenage heavy rock bands.
I especially like the songs Hurry Up and The Curse Of Castle Dragon, and I often include them in my live show.
It took me a long time to accept the idea that the guitar can take the place of a singer.
I am trying to build the biggest callus possible on my first finger so I can do one-finger bends and vibrato like B.B. King.
Writing is a chore.
In my daily life, I tend to be very literal and unsuperstitious. But music gives me an outlet to be very emotional.
I grew up in the '70s, so I even love the music that I didn't like from that era.
I probably spent more time as a kid playing air guitar to Jimmy Page than any other guitar player.
Andy Timmons is someone I've jammed with many times over the years, and we always have a great chemistry when playing together.
I went from wanting to be a Beatle to becoming a 'widdly-widdly' guitar player.
I turn complaining into music! I'm thinking I might have invented a new style. I call it 'cantankerous rock.'
I lived in Los Angeles for around 20 years. I love the place, but the driving can wear thin.
Before I even became a guitar player, I wanted to be a Beatle. That was my first dream as a musician, was to be like a Beatle.
When you record an album in six days, you don't have time to work out a lot of stuff.
One of the things I like to do is to try to jam with everybody.
I love all my guitar solos.
Every Mr. Big album is an event.
Mostly, I'm much more of a guitar player than I am a singer.
It is the universe where all rock players live- we all use distortion, overdrive, gain and saturation. I call it 'fuzz.'
Rock shows are loud, so I try to use a sound that is warm on the high frequencies.
I use the volume control on my guitar, both for dynamics and as a manual noise gate.
Being a fan of pop music and rock bands, I am a reluctant convert into the art of instrumental rock music.
On 'Fuzz Universe,' I think I've taken a giant step closer to the ultimate rock guitar sound and playing of my dreams.
As always, my influences are diverse and not what you might expect from a 'heavy metal' artist.
