I thought I'd be wasting my time to go to commercial record companies and make demos for them, because don't forget, I was doing what I was doing and nobody understood what I was doing.

There is something about guitars—maybe something magical—when played right, which evokes past, mysterious, barely-conscious sentiments, both individual and universal.

I had a big background in listening to classical music and I started trying to compose, like I was playing the guitar but I heard an orchestra in my head.

When I play, I very quickly put myself into a light hypnotic trance and compose while playing, drawing directly from the emotions.

But I say these things in an objective dispassionate manner because, you know, and I can't explain why, but being one of the greatest guitarists in the world simply is not very important to me.

Early Bluegrass is my favorite kind of music, not to many people know that.

How can I be a folk? I'm from the suburbs you know.

The other thing in composition is opening up the unconscious.

I just want to be treated like an average guy.

From a social perspective, I am looking for friends, not acolytes.

I was using them as teachers for technique but I was never trying to be a folk.

Get off of my shoulders. The foundation has been laid, now its time for you to build on it and get to work.

With our ignorance, they win, we lose.

Being your authentic self is the ultimate secret to happiness in life.

The nature of creativity is to make space for things to happen... We can drive it out with our busyness and plans.

To get up in the morning & do the monumental tasks that face us, our labor is best fueled by love.

It's time we stopped ignoring the environment. Let's not let another election go by without making this a high priority.

My parents' marriage was very rocky. They were always arguing. When they split up when I was in my 20s, my brother and I were both delighted because we knew they weren't good for each other.

There is no other way to start the season than to win the Daytona 500.

You're not going to live your life unscathed.

I still find trusting people quite hard. I've got a couple of mates that I do let in, but that's it. It's something I've got to sort out - I cut people off.