BILLY GIBBONS

Did Muddy Waters play an acoustic? Well of course he did. But did he turn his back on being able to plug it in and play louder? No, he plugged in and turned it up and got miles and miles ahead of the game in one fateful act of just plugging in.

There's not a single genre that is hard to find or hard to get.

Until you learn to play what you want to hear, you're barking up the wrong tree.

Turn on, tune up, rock out.

The blues is life itself.

White people get nervous and speed things up. You don't have to be in a hurry because you ain't got nothing to gain and you ain't got nothin' to lose. And that's where the groove lies.

Ever since I was a little kid and first heard Jimmy Reed's 'Honey, Don't Let Me Go,' the blues has been in my blood.

They prospect of seeing oneself in the mirror clean-shaven is too close to a Vincent Price film... a prospect not to be contemplated, no matter the compensation.

It's a real uphill challenge to battle the white-guyness.

Sooner rather than later, any other form other than digital media will be a thing of the past. It won't vanish, but let's face it, this is seemingly the way of the future.

In 1950, the biggest amp you could get was no bigger than a tabletop radio.

The rawness and the richness of music on vinyl almost went away, but it still seems to be on a lot of people's radar, and for good reason. It does something different than more accessible means of music playing, like MP3 players and downloads and whatnot. You get in front of these archaic contraptions that go 'round and 'round.

Water doesn't hurt a vinyl record. Put it into a dishwasher and you're fine.

The blues is a mighty long road. Or it could be a river, one that twists and turns and flows into a sea of limitless musical potential.

Having a visual element to your band is a good thing.

Our skin colours may vary, but what's upstairs - there's certain things we've all got in common.

Can't do it, simply cause underneath 'em is too ugly.

I've been touted for my guacamole. I'll stand by my method. People have asked me to come to their home and prepare it. Restaurants have asked me about it.

Experience is definitely the high road once driven. It actually enhances the songwriting and song sourcing process.

Sounds like the blues are composed of feeling, finesse, and fear.

Well, everybody faces the fact there really aren't many records stores around to just go and browse. Maybe browse online, yet that tactile feel of flipping through a stack of vinyl remains one of life's simple pleasures.

It's important to collect unusual characters. It keeps you sharp.

A blown-out tube ripped some of the grind from the amplifier, throwing us into a momentary tizzy. The unusual sound led me to play unusually, and the recorded take turned out to be a keeper. Insriration can come from the most unlikely places ... keep your head on and your ears open.

Each guitar has its own character and personality, which can be magnified once the player engages in beatin' it up

One springs to mind: one of our very first gigs in a small East Texas town was not well promoted. At least, that was our conclusion. After the band loaded in and the curtain opened, we realized there was exactly one paying customer in the audience. We kind of made the best of it playing through the first set, took a break and bought him a Coke and then went on to perform for the remainder of the night. It wasn't exactly a catastrophe but it certainly stands as legendary.