I've been trying to grow up some myself, in my heart, and it's happening quick and I feel good about it, and I want that to come out in the music.
— Stevie Ray Vaughan
The problem with taking amps to a shop is that they come back sounding like another amp.
The whole deal is when you walk onstage, you're up there bigger than life. People idolize you.
I actually wanted to be a drummer, but I didn't have any drums.
Ya know, right now the most important thing in my life is to make sure you understand that, first of all I thank God I'm alive today, and I mean that. I spent too many years of my life thinking that the big party was the whole thing.
The Marshall is supposed to be 200 watts, but mine's never worked right; it peaks out at 80.
Lonnie was ahead of his time, but at the same time he was right in there with Albert Collins's Cool Sounds.
I hit rock bottom, but thank God my bottom wasn't death.
After I changed the string we picked up right where we left off - and punched back in at the same time. I don't know if this has ever been done before. The engineer sort of looked at us weird, but we got it on the first take.
The way people come into your life when you need them, it's wonderful and it happens in so many ways. It's like having an angel. Somebody comes along and helps you get right.
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.
I'm just doing the best I can now to keep this going... trying to grow up and remain young at the same time.
Jazz changes and all. But I don't know the names of what it is I'm doing.
What I am trying to get across to you; is please take of yourselves and those that you love; because that is what we are hear for, that's all we got, and that is all we can take with us. Are you with me?
So, my big brother was playing guitar and I figured I'd try it too.
I was taught to think the next week or month or year will only get better than it is today. So I just keep waiting to see how great it will get!
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.
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.
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.
I kept listening, kept going to see people, kept sitting in with people, kept listening to records. If I wanted to learn somebody's stuff, like with Clapton, when I wanted to learn how he was getting some of his sounds - which were real neat - I learned how to make the sounds with my mouth and then copied that with my guitar.
I got a lot of paradoxes in my life. I guess I'm a real confused person, but there are some focused parts to my life now, and I'm slowly trying to put all the pieces back together.
You see, we are here, as far as I can tell, to help each other; our brothers, our sisters, our friends, our enemies. That is to help each other and not hurt each other.
The way I play, I go through a set in a year. So I put '58 Gibson Jumbo Bass frets on all my necks.
Lots of times I'll play lead and rhythm together.
I wanted to play saxophone, but all I could get were a few squeaks.
And sometimes to help them we have got to help ourselves.
Some of us can be examples about going ahead and growing, and some of us, unfortunately, don't make it there, and end up being examples because they had to die. I hit rock bottom, but thank God my bottom wasn't death.
