“THE NEVER-ENDING QUEST FOR THE HOLY GRAIL OF GUITAR SOUNDS!”

THE DREAM

The first concert I saw was in 1978, Aerosmith with AC/DC opening. I was a big Aerosmith fan, but I had no idea that AC/DC was that cool. I dug AC/DC, but when you go to see your favourite band you don’t really want to see anybody else. Some Metallica fans are like that. I went with my older brother, and I remember him saying (about AC/DC lead guitarist Angus Young), ‘That little guy running around was annoying!’ You look at Angus and you’d think that guy would’ve just fallen apart or something – his head would fall off, it’s swivelled so hard! Going to a big arena rock concert was a pretty eye-opening experience, just the whole feel: the lights going out, the anticipation, the crowd, the smells. Every sense was just soaking it in. And I wanted to be the guy up there on the stage.

RIFFS

“FOR ME IT’S GOT TO BE PERCUSSIVE. IT’S GOT TO PUSH AIR. IT’S GOT TO BARK!”

Making an album, you start with 800 riffs and you whittle it down