Quotes from Joe Bonamassa

I've never been known as a riff kind of artist.

I'm an acoustic guitar owner - in the sense that I own them, and they sit at my house, and I never play them.

If you have a good riff with a vocal as well, then it becomes a devastating song. That's why people love riff-rock: it's the ultimate air guitar music.

That's right, I take vocal lessons - done it for years. There's nothing wrong with it.

There was a rumour that I was buying Gibson. It circulated around the Internet... And I just go, 'How well off do you think I am?' I play blues-rock for a living. It's like a vow of poverty.

Sometimes you have to blame yourself before you can blame others.

British blues was my favorite music, and it still is.

Who's to say a blues man can't play rock and roll?

There's always talk about the blues dying out, but it won't.

I never had this ego where I must write everything. I'm not Bob Dylan.

When you go into a situation, and you're honest and straight-up about something, you put all your cards on the table.

You know who I'd like to open for? This will be a surprise, but I'll tell you who: Iron Maiden.

Greece was a muse. It inspired creativity in magical ways that I can't even begin to understand or explain.

There are good '59 Les Pauls, and there are not-so-good ones. There are ones that are just OK, that don't sustain as well.

I am the poster boy for brick-by-brick foundation building. Play a club. Put on a good show for 35 people. Come back. Build your market. Have people talk about you.

A guitar is so tactile, and when you're playing bends - and bending notes is a big part of my style - there are so many notes within the note you're bending from and the note you're bending up to.

Whenever I hear my playing, I can't detach from my influences: there's my Jeff Beck, there's the Clapton bit, the Eric Johnson bit, the Birelli Lagrene bit, the Billy Gibbons.

That's where the Black Keys and Jack White have succeeded and I've failed: They've actually convinced college kids that they're listening to hip music - but it's just blues twisted a new way - while I'm playing for the college kid's parents.

My first proper 'Here's your guitar, Joseph' was a 1981 Chiquita, one of those Erlewine travel guitars. And it was good for a four-year-old because it was small.

If it wasn't for guys like Gary Moore, I wouldn't exist. He not only proved that the blues could rock but it could draw a crowd as well. All of which made a huge impression on me.

Doing the acoustic at Carnegie is basically advised because electric music tends to get, let's just say, acoustically unsound.

Some people don't like me at all. But... whatever. It comes with the territory.

If I'm soloing, I usually try to start with a theme, which will often stem from the blues.

I like to be in the room with players that are better than me. That's always a good place to be.