“If you hit the front end on the right-hand side you could turn that one on by itself and if you hit on the left-hand side you could turn it on and off. And in the middle it was like serious overdrive.”

I mainly use Stratocasters. I like a lot of different kinds of guitars, but for what I do, it seems that a Stratocaster is the most versatile. I can pretty much get any sound out of it, and I use stock pickups.

My baby she’s a long and lean, you mess with her you see a man get mean.

Jazz changes and all. But I don’t know the names of what it is I’m doing.

I play as many different things – piano, sax and harp parts – as I can at once. Whatever I can fit, whenever I need to.

But between sets I’d sneak over to the black places to hear blues musicians. It got to the point where I was making my living at white clubs and having my fun at the other places.

I love my baby like the finest wine, I’ll stick with her until the end of time.

The way I play, I go through a set in a year. So I put ’58 Gibson Jumbo Bass frets on all my necks.

You know, there’s a big lie in this business. The lie is that it’s okay to go out in flames. But that doesn’t do anybody much good. I may be wrong, but I think Hendrix was trying to come around.

So, my big brother was playing guitar and I figured I’d try it too.

You see, we are here, as far as I can tell, to help each other – our brothers, our sisters, our friends, our enemies. That’s to help each other, not hurt each other.

Your sound is in your hands as much as anything. It’s the way you pick, and the way you hold the guitar, more than it is the amp or the guitar you use.

I hit rock bottom, but thank God my bottom wasn’t death.

Music really is a way to reach out and hold on to each other in a healthy way.

I’ve put my life back together, but it’s all a growing process and that’s neat, too, because if you stop growing, what good is it musically? So that is what I am looking forward to – growing. In some ways, I felt stagnant in my life and it showed.

Even though there’s reasons to try things that may or may not work, it’s still a real intimate way to finish the song with everybody right there in the band just locked in.

I actually wanted to be a drummer, but I didn’t have any drums.

I love driving the cool cars, but there is nothing like driving a pickup truck.

When we see others beginning to live their authentic selves, it drives us crazy if we have not lived out our own.

Success is almost totally dependent upon drive and persistence.

Life balance is a myth. It’s an illusion and the very pursuit of it is driving us crazy. For me it’s about proportion – it’s really a work hard/play hard equation.

It’s not greed that drives the world, but envy.

Start being brave about everything. Drive out darkness and spread light. Don’ look at your weaknesses. Realize instead that in Christ crucified you can do everything.

Real motivation is that drive from within: You know where you are going because you have a compelling image inside, not a travel poster on the wall.

What motivates people to succeed? Sex. People don’t like to admit it, but it’s the primal driver.