When I got to LA and was with the James Gang, I got the opportunity to write a lot, to play in front of large audiences, make some money.

I'll hear something in my head, then eventually play it. But it's a subconscious thing. Most of the time I really don't know what I'm playing.

My first joint I smoked onstage in Sioux Falls, South Dakota. I smoked my first joint live.

When I'm with Purple, I'm totally with Purple; when I'm doing my thing, I'm totally doing my own thing.

I have my own style, but it's different for each kind of music. There are certain little characteristic things every player has.

I can't do anything but play guitar.

You're in direct contact with the music by having the strings under your fingers. It's not mechanical like a piano.

If you're not having fun it's not worth doing.

I came in with a completely new perspective. I would write songs and they would pick tunes they felt were in the Purple vein.

I don't like English bands. They're too structured.

When you come from the Midwest, you have a more open mind than if you come from the West Coast or the East Coast.

She could not bring herself to turn away from the night sky, for the stars and the blackness were the only escape she had when old faded memories returned to haunt her.

moneys value is only as big as the value you place on money

The young, in their innocence, are often wise and capable of teaching the old.

The old will die and the young will forget.

I don't want to be in the spotlight so bad that I'm going to sell my soul, or sell my creativity short.

Accept the fact that life presents us with opportunities to find more than one "one", and that you have learned a mighty life lesson when the next one comes along.

I'm in the position to pick the cream of the crop.

You cannot grow unless you are willing to change. You will never improve yourself if you cling to what used to be.

The free electoral process is one of the things that outsiders envy most about this country. The distinctly American two-party system is perpetuated through that process.

I still remember discovering the classic rock station when I was in high school and being totally blown away by it.