You have to have passion for anything you do. Whether it's sports, whether it's music, whether you want to be Mother Theresa, you have to have passion for what it is you do, or what's the point in getting up in the morning and getting out of bed?
If somebody says they really like my playing I say thanks a lot
Without a doubt, Eddie Van Halen is the greatest guitar player who has ever lived.
If you have passion for what you want to do and that's what you want to do, you've just got to bust your balls and go for it if you want to play music.
Being in the studio, it's more of a controlled environment, where you can be Salvador Dali and sit back and look at the painting. And you can go, 'Ah, you know what? Maybe a little bit more red over here...maybe add some blue over here.' You can sit back and look at the painting.
Live, it's just the free flow and the energy and the excitement. It's a one-off and you have that adrenaline for an hour and a half.
Every night I get up on stage, I love it. I never get like, 'Oh, I'm bored, I want to go home.' I never, ever get like that.
It'll leave you feeling hollow and helpless, and there is where you'll stay. Ain't it funny child, love sometimes leaves you as dead as yesterday.
It's just a natural progression. You're a player, then you're a coach, then you're general manager for the team, and then the next logical step for me and you would be [to become] team owner.
Even when I played sports when I was little, I played to win. Otherwise, what's the point of putting the pads on and going to practice? I don't understand.
I knew that I was going to dedicate my life to music and that was it.
On the tour we get a case of beer on the bus every day from Ozzfest.
Chris Jericho is a great guy. He's beyond hysterical. He's good people. They're really good. Chris wanted me to throw down a solo. He sent it to me and I knocked it out.
Great musicians, you don't just hear them, you feel them. When I listen to Randy Rhoads, I feel every note. I learned a lot from him.
Another time I cracked two of the vertebrae in my back and broke a rib.
That's why for Zakk Wylde's Black Label Society the colors are black and white. There are no gray issues. Life is black and it's white. There's no in-between.
I don't think it's ever changed, whether its Frank Sinatra, Glenn Miller, Zeppelin, Guns n' Roses or anyone today, the reason why you get into music is because you love it, and if you're good at it, that's a plus.
All my writing, I always do it in the studio, 'cause everything sounds good. The piano's there, the keyboards; if you want to put strings on something... And everything sounds good when it's in the cans; it sounds killer.
