Cheap Trick have always prided ourselves on being groundbreaking.
Hendrix was a different kind of guitar player. It was like, 'Holy cow, this guy can sing, he can play all this weird stuff... what is this?' It was a new kind of music.
I love guitars, and guitars love me, but sometimes they need new homes where they can live to rock another day.
I don't know any American rock bands.
I'm kind of a goony guy, a dweeb or a geek.
The way I look at it, I'm a songwriter that just happens to play guitar.
When I write songs, it's just me and a cassette player - or at least it used to be before smartphones - to quickly record a basic idea.
If you don't have a great chorus, write a good bridge first. I often do that and find I write good bridges.
Look at Bob Dylan: his voice is not a great sound, but it gets the idea across... and that is what's really important.
Living someplace like L.A. seemed awful to me.
I just wanted to write about stuff that was happening in real life, and that's not just love songs about your girlfriend.
The only time I have a problem is when I have to get in a vehicle after we play and sit there in a cramped position for a couple of hours to drive to the next place. Then I get super stiff.
Have a good work ethic. You've got to practice, practice, practice. I'm not telling you what to practice - that's up to you.
If you can make it in Rockford, you can make it anywhere.
I did what I believed in. It got me in trouble, but it also got me a job.
I knew the guys in the Allman Brothers way back in the day, before they were famous.
I've owned about 2,000 guitars through the years because I've traded a lot and given away and sold some stuff.
Nobody wants to hear long speeches.
We always record with the whole band. That's key to capturing the feel, especially trying to get a good basic track.
I always use my Les Paul. I have a Hamer as well. I use a Tele and an Esquire - once in a while, I will use a Strat, and I never use any pedals... except for in my car.
