“My dad taught me to play the guitar. We grew up with country music. We had every Willie Nelson record (laughs). I was saved at a young age and had a great desire to follow God. I was really focused on that through my whole life, even as a kid and through high school.” CountryPlayWholeKidsAgeSchoolYoungDesireLaughingRecordsTaughtGrewDadGrew UpHigh SchoolGuitarMy DadFocusedSavedWhole LifeYoung AgeNelson Author:Chris Tomlin
“Forty years ago, my life in music was substantially different to today. I went out every night with my guitar seeking a place to sing, a floor on which to lie, some love, some food, a lot of wine. There was no business, no gigs, no questions, no P.R., recording, life was simpler, I was poor and young and hungry. Today I am a lot more focused on The Song.” YearsDifferentTodayYoungLyingNightSongPoorYears AgoWineGuitarSeekingFocusedHungryFortyEvery NightGigs Author:Christy Moore
“I met my manager when I was in high school and I just started playing guitar. He came from a line of managing incredible artists. He said instead of opting for the quick fix he wanted me to go out and live my life and get some experience under my belt and keep in touch. It took me a long time to get to where I am but I wouldn't change it for nothing. It's been very valuable. Life happened and then the music came.” LongSaidWantedSchoolArtistLinesHappenedMetsLong TimeHigh SchoolGuitarIncrediblesValuableManagersLiving My LifeBeltsLife HappensPlaying GuitarQuick FixesValuable Life Author:Courtney Jaye
“I enjoy listening to Olla Bell. There is also this young guitar player, John Duke Lippincott, he sometimes goes by Johnny Duke. He is the most brilliant guitar player from right here in Wilmington, DE.” SometimesYoungEnjoyPlayerListeningGuitarBrilliantBellsGuitar PlayerDukesTime Goes ByWilmington Author:David Bromberg
“It seemed so wimpy at first when I started to play [guitar]. So I started playing loud with lots of effects just to try to mimic the dynamic [of the drums]. Drums seemed a lot more expressive. [I was] Trying to emulate the feeling of playing the drums on the guitar - I guess that's why I played it so loud.” TryingFirstsPlayFeelingsEffectsGuitarLoudEmulateExpressive Author:J Mascis
“I have limited interests. I really like all sorts of gear. Guitar gear. Recording gear. Stuff like that. I like music, you know.” KnowsStuffInterestGuitarGears Author:J Mascis
“I started playing guitar at the age of 8 or 9 years. Very early, and I was like already into pop music and was just trying to copy what I heard on the radio. And at a very early age I started experimenting with old tape recorders from my parents. I was 11 or 12 at that time and then when I was like 14 or 15 I had a punk band. I made all the classic rock musician's evolutions and then in the early nineties I bought my first sampler and that is how I got into electronic music, because I was able to produce it on my own. That was quite a relief.” TryingYearsFirstsMadeAgeAbleParentMy OwnHeardRocksProduceEvolutionBandMusicianMusic IsGuitarRadioPopsClassicReliefCopiesPunkTapePop MusicRock MusicElectronic MusicRecordersPlaying GuitarClassic RockRock Musicians Author:Christian Fennesz
“It's amazing. It's actually build from old Siemens Telefunken transistors from the 60ties. There is like 10 in there. It's the most powerful distortion you can have. It does not only do distortion, it does so many weird things. You can't control it, it's sound different all the time. But it's an endless source for fantastic sounds. For example the track "Transit" is entirely made with this box. You have to put the guitar sound in. It's like a pedal.” DoeMadeDifferentSoundPowerfulExampleSourceGuitarTrackBoxesEndlessFantasticMost PowerfulDistortionWeird ThingsPedalsGuitar SoundTransistors Author:Christian Fennesz
“Well, I've heard a lot of people, but I think I would say a Brazilian musician named Hermeto Pascoal was one of my biggest influences. Through the years he mastered the keyboards. He use to play the organ Hammond B3, flute, saxophone, percussion and guitar. He is one of the most complete musicians that I ever met. Not too long after we came to the United States, Airto Moreira introduced him to Miles Davis, who recorded three of Hermeto's compositions on his album "Live Evil.” PeopleThinkingYearsWellsLongStatesPlayUseThreeEvilUnitedUnited StatesHeardInfluenceMetsMusicianGuitarAlbumsMilesOrgansCompositionKeyboardsThrough The YearsSaxophoneFlutesPercussion Author:Flora Purim
“Yeah, Jody [Porter] left. He's a great guitar player. We have a guy named Phil Hurley who is going to go out on tour with us now. I'm not sure if he'll end up as the permanent guitar player, but he's the type of guy who can kind of step in and play anything. He was with the Gigolo Ants before, and he's really good.” IfsKindEndsPlayGuyLeftStepsPlayerTypeYeahGuitarPermanentNot SureAntsGuitar PlayerType Of GuyGigolo Author:Adam Schlesinger
“I used to play the drums. When I was 11 I got my first professional job, I played drums in a cabary and played Elvis and stuff, I used to play left handed actually. Then I started to pick up the guitar when I was around 15, but I played the drums for a long time.” FirstsLongPlayJobsUsedLeftStuffLong TimePicksGuitarLeft Handed Author:Francis Dunnery
“I fool around with guitar and I can fool around on piano. I don't really play either instrument although I can play a couple of songs on guitar. You don't really need to be able to play to compose. There are many composers and arrangers who work out of their heads.” NeedsI CanPlayAbleSongFoolCoupleInstrumentsGuitarWork OutPianoComposer Author:Frankie Laine
“At that time there was, but they didn't have the guitar I wanted. There are only about 2000 people there and the next town was Dodge City 40 or 50 miles away and I didn't have a car. So it was easier to order it through the mail - which you shouldn't do. But it turned out okay. It was one of those Ovations - there's not much danger in ordering one of those.” PeopleWantedOrderNextCitiesCarDangerEasierOkayTownsGuitarMilesMailMiles AwayDodgeOvation Author:Freedy Johnston
“Before I joined Kraftwerk in 1971, I played guitar in a band called Spirits of Sound, whose members included (at times) amongst others singer Wolfgang Riechmann (Sky Records released his only solo album Wunderbar shortly after his death in 1978) and drummer Wolfgang Flür (later on Kraftwerk, now solo). The music of S.o.S. in the mid 60's first was the English pop and rock music of the times (Beatles, Kinks, Rolling Stones ).” FirstsSpiritSoundRecordsSkyRocksBandMembersStonesGuitarAlbumsPopsSingersRollingSoloDrummerRock MusicRolling StonesKink Author:Michael Rother
“As a conscientious objector I did my community service in 1971 in a psychiatric hospital and a friend there, who also was a guitar player, invited me one day to join him recording film music with a band named Kraftwerk which I didn't know at the time. I came along and jammed at this session together with Ralf Hütter and a drummer (I believe his name was Charly Weiß). Florian Schneider and Klaus Dinger were present as listeners and everybody liked the spontaneous music we did together.” KnowsBelieveTogetherFilmNamesI BelieveCommunityPlayerOne DayBandGuitarHospitalsListenersSpontaneousInvitedSessionDrummerGuitar PlayerCommunity ServicePsychiatricFilm MusicConscientious ObjectorsPsychiatric Hospitals Author:Michael Rother
“The main reason for the break was a combination of travel and going back to university, which drew me into theatre more than music. I did stuff on acoustic guitar when I was traveling, filed it away and made notes, without it being musical notation. Just taped the odd thing, did a sketch, stuck it on a cassette. I thought at some point, I'll go back to it. Some of it I did use in '84-'85 when I started working in the Free Theatre in Christchurch. So it might seem like I had given up after the Pin Group, but I just went into a different avenue.” MadeDifferentReasonUseSeemsMightGivenStuffBreakGroupsNotesGuitarMusicalUniversityTheatreStuckCombinationOddPinsAvenuesGiven UpAcousticsOdd ThingsAcoustic GuitarCassettes Author:Roy Montgomery
“I felt I had nothing more to say. Everything would have had to be a replay of the previous two or three albums, and that decided me to stop. What bothered me most was not playing guitar at all anymore. I felt I had no more contact with the instrument. It was just a piece of wood to me. I even thought music had definitely left me. After fourteen albums, there may be an overload phase, a sort of lassitude.” MayTwoThreeLeftFeltPiecesDecidedInstrumentsGuitarAlbumsWoodsContactPhasesBotheredFourteenPlaying GuitarOverloadReplay Author:Richard Pinhas
“When I'm not writing music, I'm playing guitar, or reading philosophy. So all I have left is just an hour or two for Claudia Schiffer.” WritingTwoPhilosophyReadingLeftHoursGuitarWriting MusicPlaying GuitarClaudia Author:Richard Pinhas
“Sometimes I don't pick up the guitar for six months or so," "Other times I get away, go to a hotel or something, to write songs. Or go stay with a friend and bring the dog and do stuff away from my normal routine. Then I sit down and play guitar at night. I do it differently every time . There is no set way.” WayWritingSometimesPlayNightSongStuffDogMonthsNormalSixPicksDown AndGuitarHotelGet AwayRoutineSix Months Author:Holly Golightly
“Some of the songs I wanted to be really full, [but] there's something to be said for just a voice and a guitar” SaidWantedSongVoiceGuitar Author:Ingrid Michaelson
“Since I left Chicago, I'm a lone wolf. I put on the record player and sit and try to play on the guitar. I've got five guitars here and can't play them, but I'm always whompin' around.” TryingPlayLeftRecordsFivePlayerGuitarChicagoLoneLone WolfRecord Players Author:James Cotton
“I think if you really put your mind to something you can do it. Five and a half years ago I couldn't stand on stage and play guitar. I didn't have enough talent as a kid to play guitar. I started really late. I hired a guitar teacher when I was in Nashville and I applied myself and stayed focused.” IfsThinkingYearsMindEnoughPlayKidsCan DoHalfFiveTeacherStageTalentLateYears AgoGuitarFocusedYou Can Do ItNashvilleHalf A Year Author:Jimmy Wayne
“I never really expected any of the music business to happen, but I'm glad it did. It was a very cool thing to happen. It was a hobby for me. I used to do it to meet girls. If you had long hair and could play a guitar then you got girls. That's how I started. Then I fell in love with the music and got carried away.” IfsLongPlayHappensUsedGirlHairGuitarExpectedGladHobbiesMusic BusinessCool ThingsCarried AwayLong HairVery Cool Author:John Martyn
“Sometimes you've got to draw a line between having all the options and being a slave to the things, using them every time you play the guitar. I'm trying to keep a real inconsistency to the pedals so that it is something new every time.” TryingRealSometimesPlayLinesDrawsSlaveGuitarSomething NewInconsistencyPedals Author:Joshua Homme
“I'm taking drama classes, they say I'm a natural actress. I think it's just because I talk a lot. I'm also learning how to play guitar and piano. Piano is really hard though. My dad is teaching me and I just get so confused because the chords are so different, but by learning I hope to be able to be a songwriter as well.” ThinkingWellsDifferentHardPlayAbleNaturalClassTeachingDadDramaGuitarMy DadActressesPianoConfusedSongwritersChordsSo ConfusedDrama Class Author:Lindsay Pagano
“Well I started out on guitar, so it is still the mainstay of my music. But I have recently been working very hard on my piano, and it is coming along to the point where it is taking more of the spotlight. It has been my plan to be able to make music well into my old age, and sitting down seems like a good idea. Also, I don't have to carry the piano on the road. I haven't been playing the banjo much of late because of the difficulties of travelling with so much gear. But maybe I'll bring it to Japan. It adds a different color to the musical palette.” WellsHas BeensStillsIdeasDifferentHardSeemsAgeAblePlansHavensColorLateSittingDifficultyAddGuitarMusicalOld AgePianoJapanGood IdeasGearsSpotlightSitting DownPaletteBanjosDifferent ColorsWorking Very Hard Author:Livingston Taylor
“There are many excellent guitar players but I have to say Jimi Hendrix and Eric Clapton are still at the top! There are many imitators but very few genuine articles. There is so much more to playing than a fast blur of notes, like feeling and emotion from the soul. It's like punctuating a sentence and knowing when to lay back and not fill up all the space. Those are the things I tried to teach my son Tim when he began playing.” StillsSoulFeelingsSpaceEmotionTeachKnowingPlayerSonLaysNotesGuitarSentencesGenuineExcellentMy SonArticlesFeelings And EmotionsEricGuitar PlayerBlurHendrixImitator Author:Merrell Fankhauser
“I think there are quite a few new Instro/Surf groups that are really great. The Mermen are good and there doing something different. The Space Cossacks, Penetrators, The Fathoms, I really like The Falcons from Canada, Mike Beddoes is a really fine guitar player. I like Nokie Edwards of The Ventures, who gave me a guitar lesson once when we were playing opposite them in 1962 at The Rose Garden Ballroom in Pismo Beach. That's were The Impacts started and got signed to Del Fi in 1962.” ThinkingDifferentSpacePlayerGroupsFineLessonsGardenOppositesImpactRoseGuitarBeachCanadaVentureReally GreatMikeSurfGuitar PlayerFathomBallroomFalconRose GardenCossacks Author:Merrell Fankhauser
“The first thing that got to me was seeing David Bowie on a children's TV show, but Bowie was way beyond my aspirations. The Buzzcocks' Spiral Scratch came out in 1977 and it had a breakdown of the recording costs, then you saw Pete Shelley playing a broken guitar from Woolworths. We already had an idea of the kind of music we wanted to do, but punk showed us a way to do it.” WayFirstsKindChildrenIdeasShowsWantedSawsSeeingTvsBrokenCostGuitarAspirationPunkTv ShowsScratchesBreakdownSpiralsBowieShelley Author:Edwyn Collins
“I started piano lessons at age six but didn't take music seriously until I was a teenager, when I thought about a career in music. I studied classical music, and my instruments were guitar and piano. I played keyboards in bands, and after high school I went to Vienna to study at the Academy of Music. I also became a session player, which culminated in my work with Tangerine Dream.” DreamAgeSchoolCareersStudyPlayerLessonsBandSixHigh SchoolInstrumentsGuitarTeenagerPianoSessionClassical MusicAcademyKeyboardsViennaPiano LessonAfter High SchoolLife After High SchoolTangerines Author:Paul Haslinger
“The use of electronics is a natural extension of the instrument - it is an electric guitar. So we guitarists have been plugging into something since 1931, and we are not about to stop now. Current advances in technology means we can have a huge array of sounds at our fingertips, and this offers amazing possibilities to the contemporary composer. It is always a guitar (I don't play synthesizer) but it becomes something else all together - more like sculpting sound in real time using metal wires, 5 fingers and a pick.” MeanHas BeensRealPlayUseTogetherSoundNaturalTechnologyPossibilityHugeOffersPicksInstrumentsFingersGuitarCurrentsContemporaryMetalsComposerElectricExtensionsWireGuitaristUsing MeFingertipsElectronicsElectric GuitarSculptingSynthesizers Author:Tim Brady
“We've done every record on our own. Its produced by our guitar player and sometimes we'll have some help mixin' it and have some outside engineers but for the most part, it's done by the band and I think that's the reason why CKY sounds like no other band, 'cause we make our own albums.” ThinkingSometimesReasonDoneHelpingCausesSoundRecordsPlayerBandGuitarAlbumsReason WhyEngineersGuitar Player Author:Jess Margera
“The early years when I was starting, blues player, you wasn't always welcome in a lot of the other places. People usually have preconceived ideas about blues music. They always feel that it's depressing and that it's just something that a guy sit out on a stool, grab a guitar, and just start singing or mumbling or whatever.” PeopleFeelsYearsIdeasGuyPlayerSingingGuitarStartingWelcomeDepressingStoolsBlues MusicPreconceived Ideas Author:B. B. King
“One time I said: maybe I should burn a guitar tonight. You know smash a guitar or something like that. And they said: yeah, yeah! I said: you really think I should? They said: yeah, that'd be cool. I said: well, ok.” ThinkingKnowsShouldWellsSaidYeahGuitarTonightOne TimeThey SaidBeing Cool Author:Jimi Hendrix
“Like Paul Kraston said, all I ask in life is a water bed, a TV and a typewriter. Well, I'll just have an ordinary bed, a TV and a guitar.” WellsSaidLife IsAsksWaterTvsBedOrdinaryGuitarTypewriters Author:John Lennon
“My mom really wanted me to be a musician so she gave me a guitar for my fifth birthday, but I didn't start playing till I was seven.” WantedMomMusicianSevenGuitarMy MomFifth Author:Yngwie Malmsteen
“I'm working on guitars for free, because I love working on guitars anyway.” Guitar Author:Yngwie Malmsteen
“I was able to apply ukulele to whatever I'm trying to write. It's become part of songwriting for me, the knowledge I gained from hearing the melodies come out, and then applying that to guitar or vocals.” WritingTryingAbleGuitarHearingMelodySongwritingVocalUkulele Author:Eddie Vedder
“There are times where I would keep three typewriters on a table, and I'd have three complete thoughts going. With computers, you make folders, files - I don't know about those things. I have sheaves of paper polluted with words and paragraphs. I found it a good tool for me. And it keeps your hands strong for guitar playing.” KnowsHandsThreeFoundStrongPaperComputerToolsTablesGuitarFilesParagraphTypewritersGuitar PlayingFolders Author:Eddie Vedder
“I tried to make guitars that were close to what my heroes played. That's the way it's done. My experience is that you have to do it like a musician. You have to learn the language before you can learn to be a novelist.” WayDoneLanguageHeroMusicianGuitarNovelistsMy Hero Author:Paul Reed Smith
“In the camera business, you won't survive if you don't innovate. In the guitar business you may or may not. The guitars being sold were designed between '48 and '59, Gibson SGs in '61.” IfsMayCamerasGuitar Author:Paul Reed Smith
“I don't see any rock stars playing an electric guitar from some new maker like you see in the acoustic guitar world.” WorldStarsRocksLike YouGuitarMakersElectricRock StarAcousticsAcoustic GuitarElectric Guitar Author:Paul Reed Smith
“Somebody's going to wake up and their job in life is going to be to make guitars. There are a lot of good, talented people.” PeopleJobsLife IsWake UpGuitar Author:Paul Reed Smith
“I change guitars as they come and go. I have one I played for almost a decade, but I've put it away. It was the first McCarty. Now, I'm playing one I grabbed off the line. I've been playing it ever since.” FirstsLinesGuitarDecadesComes And Goes Author:Paul Reed Smith
“It's very important to have a good song - one where you can strip away all the production and just play it on guitar or at the piano. It has to hold its own. That's why I've put videos online with acoustic versions of my songs, so you can hear them in their original form.” ImportantPlayFormSongOriginalsGuitarProductionsVideoVersionsPianoOnlineAcoustics Author:Lights
“I've tried to become a singer with the guitar and not let any technological licks run my life. Just write the licks and play them as best as I can as a part rather than ad libbing.” WritingI CanPlayRunningGuitarSingersAdsTechnological Author:Jeff Beck
“My favorite moments are when the bass falls in the pocket with the drums, the guitar is on top just slicing it, and the melody is scraping across like a sidewinder shattering through the monitor. It's just, ahhh, I love it! That's the jones, the hit, the buzz right there. It gets me off.” MomentsFallGuitarMy FavoritePocketsMelodyBassBuzzShatteringScraping Author:Nikki Sixx
“My earliest musical memory was getting to watch my dad play drums in a local band. He's a banker by trade, but a drummer at heart. I remember seeing the guitar player do the solo from "Werewolves of London" with his teeth, and that was the moment that had me hooked.” HeartPlayMomentsRememberMemoriesWatchesPlayerSeeingDadBandTradeGuitarMusicalMy DadLondonLocalsTeethSoloBankersDrummerWerewolfHookedGuitar Player Author:Charlie Worsham
“There is no way that I could pinpoint just one person. When I first started, I was listening to Randy Rogers quite a bit, and I was also pretty big into Josh Grider back then. I remember going to a lot of Kevin Fowler shows early, and Eli Young Band was another one of the groups I listened to a lot of when I was learning to write and play guitar.” WayWritingFirstsPersonsPlayShowsBigsRememberYoungBitsGroupsListeningBandGuitarJust OneRogerKevinJoshRandy Author:Curtis Grimes
“Once we get out on the road, my tour manager who is also my guitar player does a great job of taking weight off of my shoulders where I can just focus on playing the shows.About two hours before every show, the pacing starts and the anticipation builds. I prepare for it just like I would when I used ride bulls, slap yourself in the face, wake yourself up and get your heart going.” HeartDoeI CanTwoShowsJobsFacesUsedHoursFocusPlayerWeightGuitarShouldersManagersAnticipationBullsSlapGuitar PlayerGreat JobPacing Author:Cody Johnson