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.

Fast is only cool if it's melodic and has substance.

What I think is the most important thing to learn about any instrument is the basics of music. Learn your ABCs before you write a Hemingway novel.

Ritchie Blackmore was a huge early influence on me, but after that I had to find my own way ... Johann Sebastian Bach was probably the most influential guy ever on me ... Vivaldi, Beethoven and eventually Paganini ... all of a sudden I was thinking in all these other areas, instead of blues riffs.

The only thing I ever really wanted was a Strat .. I started playing guitar after seeing Jimi Hendrix on TV the day he died...then I got Deep Purples' Fireball album which was also a big influence .. I have a collection of more than 200 of them that includes Strats from every year since March 1954 - the first month the Strat was made

I've always been heavily influenced by classical music, mostly by baroque music.

I'm working on guitars for free, because I love working on guitars anyway.

I wasn't very big on going to school. I tried to get a gig as a luthier.

I don't think you can learn to be a complete musician. That has to come from within, and it entails a lot of sacrifice.