I was 12 in '55 when rock and roll hit. It just completely transformed me. Robert Quine More Quotes by Robert Quine More Quotes From Robert Quine It was just like Howlin' Wolf. Once you arrive at the point that you understand it, the emotional factor is darker than some of the saddest blues stuff. Robert Quine howlin-wolf emotional stuff By then I was in Brooklyn and drank my way through that summer. I stopped when I got sick of that and got a job at the Strand bookstore, which was a little better than the tax job. Robert Quine sick summer jobs By many peoples' standards, my playing is very primitive but by punk standards, I'm a virtuoso. Robert Quine primitive punk standards Reading music is something that's inherently hateful to me. It makes music like mathematics. Robert Quine hateful mathematics reading I never really followed grunge. Robert Quine grunge After I exhausted the blues thing, I got into jazz. Robert Quine exhausted jazz Meanwhile after failing the bar twice, I knew some people in New York and moved here in August '71. Robert Quine august new-york people I think Blank Generation holds up pretty well. You listen to that with headphones and there's a lot going on there with the guitars- it's the product of a lot of fighting. Robert Quine guitar fighting thinking I started off with the really funky stuff like Ramsey Lewis, Milt Jackson, Kenny Burrell. Robert Quine funky kenny stuff From '69 til '76, I never played in public. I would play by myself at home. Robert Quine play home Even by the time I was four or five, I had Gene Autry records. Robert Quine genes records four I was coerced into taking piano lessons in the early '50s. It was a quite unpleasant experience. Robert Quine piano-lesson piano lessons I saw Suicide in '74 and it was pretty horrifying. Robert Quine saws suicide The Stones were nasty and ugly and doing songs I was familiar with. Robert Quine ugly song funny My playing started to develop through the Miles Davis stuff I was listening to. Robert Quine miles listening stuff I really feel fortunate to have been around then because there have been good and bad years in rock but the best years were '55 to early '61. I got to see Buddy Holly and everybody else. Robert Quine feel best bad good I quit the tax job then and decided that I was going to play in a band. I answered ads in the Village Voice and went through two days of auditioning for bands. Robert Quine job village voice play
