“I don’t think I had a specific moment when I thought, “I’m not going to play music anymore.” I just played less and got involved in other things.”

There’s a difference between music that’s original and music that’s retro. A lot of bands now are kind of retro 70s whether it’s Kraut-rock or… I’ve heard people suggest that we’re kind of retro 80s.

It’s hard to go out in front of people with an acoustic guitar and improvise for 30 or 40 minutes, but I had a compulsion to do it. I just had to in a way that I can’t really explain.

I’m uptight in general, and it’s hard for me to play in a situation where I’m not rehearsed or I feel like I’m not prepared. So it’s always hard for me to come away from those and think it was the best thing I could do.

With Fred McDowell, I just love the way he articulates the notes. I’m hardly unique in that, but there’s just something about that that I love.

I did pull out my old Telecaster, and have been thinking I’d like to play that loud with a drummer. But I haven’t actually done that yet.

I definitely have a different perspective on music in general. But once I actually have a guitar in my hands, I think I disappear into the same black hole that I was disappearing into when I was 15.

So a lot of traditional rock sounds, you can’t play them. But to be honest, there was no particular intention when I started playing with four strings. It just worked out that way and it sounded cool.

With a four-string, the middle range is less of an option. That kind of 5th that you play on those A and D strings isn’t there.