Why did you pick up a guitar? It was louder than my sister's screaming. Plus, it looked like a hotrod. It is a hotrod!
What was your first guitar? Gibson Melody Maker, single pickup, single cutaway, two-toned sunburst. 1962. Pin-striping extra.
What was the first song you learned? "What'd I Say" by Ray Charles and a bunch of Jimmy Reed.
Do you remember your first gig? Oh, yes! It was with The Saints...Crosswell, Taft, Mickley and Gibbons. A real get-down house party. Complete with the end-of-evening raid. Had to hop the back fence with guitar in hand. Escaped in fine form. Pure heaven.
What is your favorite piece of gear? More than likely, the Bixonic Expandora fuzzbox reigns supreme. Then again, there's Blackstone Appliances, Foxx Tone Machine, the Metasonix Agonizer, Dallas Rangemaster... One's too many and a hundred ain't enough.
Got any advice for young players? Write, play, make good records. Learn to play what you want to hear. A good thang.
“My wife heard Locomotive Breath on the radio. She said, ‘I wish you played like that now.’ I was a bit upset”: Martin Barre on revisiting Jethro Tull, Leslie West – and the bootleg Les Paul that bent like a banana
“Mick Ronson came to see one of the Springsteen shows, and he was just so proud of me. He had a classic rock ‘n’ roll existence, but I love him for all that”: Shane Fontayne on the kindness of Ronson, serving the Boss – and playing Stairway for Jimmy Page
![Adrian Smith [left] and Richie Kotzen pose with an HSS S-style and Telecaster respectively.](https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/DqivbKgc2aXLoykDT3h5mN-840-80.jpg.webp)
