John Waite

“When you're up there acoustically you're thinking, How could I possibly go back to rock?' Then when I'm playing rock I think, How can I ever go back to being unplugged?' That's what makes it fun all of the time.”

“I was going to be a painter. I went to art school - but every 16-year-old wants to be a painter.”

“If something feels right, then just do it.”

“The Babys - all their biggest hits happened in the 70s.”

“When you're playing rock music to 10,000 people, you almost attack the audience. When you play acoustic you're waiting for the audience to respond. It's a reverse energy, and you're more vulnerable. It's really intense.”

“Experience teaches you a few tricks, but energy is key. Its what keeps you pumped.”

“Marty Robbins was one of the first singers that really hit me hard.”

“It' always so sad to see people spend the rest of their careers just trying to repeat the formula.”

“Being raise in England, we were all raised on blues and country.”

“You don't have to keep trying to sound like your last song. There's new things to do.”

“I always thought I could do it, have an across-the-board big record.”

“I think rock 'n' roll is very visual. All of the best bands, like The Stones, The Who and Small Faces, were very valid both musically and visually.”

“When we're out touring, we often go to clubs to see people play. The alternative is to go back to the hotel And that's no good.”

“You shouldn't have to follow fashion to make music.”

“After Bad English, I made three albums back-to-back that I still think is my best work, but it wasn't meant to be toured.”

“I decided I couldn't ever again deal with the megabusiness end of the music business.”

“I was hanging around New York, getting used to being on the street. I didn't have any friends I didn't know anybody at that point.”

“'When I See You Smile' - that was not what we should have been doing in Bad English.”

“Songs, and songwriting keeps me inspired, moving forward.”

“The moment you stop becoming an artist, you kind of trade it all in.”