Most people can do what I do – they can do guitar solos – but they can’t do a good, hard rhythm guitar and be dedicated to it.
I honestly believe that you have to be able to play the guitar hard if you want to be able to get the whole spectrum of tones out of it. Since I normally play so hard, when I start picking a bit softer my tone changes completely, and that’s really useful sometimes for creating a more laid-back feel.
I have this theory about us. When we started writing our own songs, we were 17 years old. When you’re 17, you write songs for other 17-year-olds. We stopped growing musically when we were 17. We still write songs for 17-year-olds.
I wouldn’t know any newer bands. We’re past the pimple stage.
I never thought of us as a punk band, a metal band, or a new wave band. Just as a band band.
There’s nothing worse than trying to patch something or make do. If there wasn’t something there in the beginning, it won’t be there at the end.
A lot of times you’ll hear bands and it’s a different sound coming out than what’s on stage. Because you can clean it up through a PA and make it sound completely different than what they really sound like.
What we admit to is being a rock n’ roll band. From day one, I was a big Chuck Berry fan.
I just go where the guitar takes me.
I can’t deny that Eric Clapton’s and Eddie Van Halen’s lead stuff has influenced a stack of people, but for me, it’s the rhythm thing that’s way more impressive and important to a band.
Every guitarist I would cross paths with would tell me that I should have a flashy guitar, whatever the latest fashion model was, and I used to say, ‘Why? Mine works, doesn’t it? It’s a piece of wood and six strings, and it works.’
I’ve been shocked for a long time in a lot of circumstances. I get shocked when they say, ‘Hey, we’re paying ya.’
Hearing a lot of early rock n’ roll records from a very young age was a huge influence.
The guitar can go at a scream. It can yell at you.
Key to longevity… drinking embalming fluid every year.
I tried a Les Paul when I was a lot younger. I tried the Les Paul, and because of the weight of the thing, it nearly dislocated my hip.
There are all sorts of cute puppy dogs, but it doesn’t stop people from going out and buying Dobermans.
The playing is great. The traveling is tough. It’s a hard thing.
Most people can do what I do – they can do guitar solos – but they can’t do a good, hard rhythm guitar and be dedicated to it.
With AC/DC, we’ve always started with rock, and we’ve just kept it going. The critic’s view is always, ‘They just made an album and it’s the same as the last one.’ I’ll have fifteen of them, anytime.
Yes, we’re still five little people with a noisy attitude.
My ambition was just to be able to play guitar.
We played by feel. We felt as though you could put us on any stage, and we would find a way to win that crowd over. We had that attitude: We can’t fail. You might not like it right now, but you will.
Actually, because I’m so small, when I strike an open A chord I get physically thrown to the left, and when I play an open G chord I go right. That’s how hard I play, and that’s how a lot of my stage act has come about. I just go where the guitar takes me.
I tried a Les Paul when I was a lot younger. I tried the Les Paul, and because of the weight of the thing, it nearly dislocated my hip.
I’ve always been someone who thought it didn’t matter where you were playing. I always shot for the best you could get. It never bothered me if it was small or it was big.
We always try to get new songs. That’s what AC/DC has always been about. You can listen to what we do, and you can go, ‘Well, it’s AC/DC, but it’s a new song.’ So that’s what we’ve always tried to achieve. So we’ve always got that style.
I remember one of the first gigs I played with that amp was at a local church. They wanted someone to fill in with the guitar and my friend say, ‘Ah, he can play.’ And so I dragged the amplifier down and started playing and everybody started yelling ‘turn it down!’
I don’t regard myself as a soloist. It’s a color; I put it in for excitement. It’s not great loss if a solo has to go. We’ve made songs without solos.
I think we’re just one of those bands that we know what we do best.
We came out in the midst of the hippie hangover. All this mellow music.
I never bothered with cars. I was probably one of the few kids in school who didn’t run around with hot-rod magazines. As I would be at home fiddling with my guitar, they would be fiddling with a car engine.
Yes, we’re still five little people with a noisy attitude.
I never thought of us as a punk band, a metal band, or a new wave band. Just as a band band.
Soloing was pretty easy for me because it was probably the first thing I’ve ever done.
The guitar can go at a scream. It can yell at you.
My part in AC/DC is just adding the color on top.
I saw Deep Purple live once and I paid money for it and I thought, ‘Geez, this is ridiculous.’ You just see through all that sort of stuff. I never liked those Deep Purples or those sort of things. I always hated it. I always thought it was a poor man’s Led Zeppelin.
We’ve been in front of really big audiences, and people have said there’s a couple of hundred thousand people out there, but I’ve never really noticed.
The biggest tragedy we had early on was when Bon Scott died.
I can’t deny that Eric Clapton’s and Eddie Van Halen’s lead stuff has influenced a stack of people, but for me, it’s the rhythm thing that’s way more impressive and important to a band.
Key to longevity… drinking embalming fluid every year.
I think what AC/DC does best is play live. That’s when everything comes together. Even after you make a studio album, when you go out and play live, that’s when you learn what being in a band is all about.
We’re a rock group. we’re noisy, rowdy, sensational and weird.
Actually, because I’m so small, when I strike an open A chord I get physically thrown to the left, and when I play an open G chord I go right. That’s how hard I play, and that’s how a lot of my stage act has come about. I just go where the guitar takes me.
When we play live, it’s always been a do or die effort. And everything we’ve ever done has always had that approach.
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