Guitar Licks Quotes

I was always listening to the records that made shredding sound fun - Steve Vai, Satriani, Cacophony, Paul Gilbert. I think that's what's missing from modern shred guitar; so many people are playing so many amazing notes, but a lot of it doesn't really sound all that fun.

I've never really heard anybody imitating anything of mine the way they do with Edward Van Halen's stuff.

I learn tons of John Frusciante's licks from the Red Hot Chili Peppers. I'm never going to play like the Chili Peppers, but I might use that if I've got a dub beat or reggae thing mixed with a soul thing.

A big part of the Alice Cooper sound is the big classic rock licks, the big, classic thematic kind of... It's not about going crazy, it's not about playing super fast.

I have no formal guitar training whatsoever, so it's been fun learning sweep-picking techniques. Working on these types of licks has thrown a whole new collection of tricks into the mix.

Duane Allman might be my favorite guitar player ever. I'd say I'm influenced by the Allman Brothers more than any other band. When I taught guitar lessons for a living, the students that were interested in soloing had to learn the intro to 'It's Not My Cross to Bear' first thing.

Elmore James only knew one lick, but you had the feeling that he meant it.

The whole reputation of being a rock guitar player, I could really care less about it. Still, when I hear new groups today I do occasionally hear something where I think... ahh, I've heard that lick before.

I always get frustrated when I hear someone talking about sweep arpeggios. Though there are plenty of licks and examples out there, no one has ever really broken down the mechanics of the technique. As a result, guitarists have had to figure them out by trial and error.

If you take the riff from the song 'Cowboys From Hell' and really break it down, it's almost a hillbilly guitar riff: dekka dekka dekka dekka dekka dekka dekka dek.