If you can say something special on the guitar, then you're going to perk my ears up. But if you're just gonna run through all the scales, then I can always find something else to listen to. Rick Nielsen More Quotes by Rick Nielsen More Quotes From Rick Nielsen If you're going to be ridiculous, be over-the-top ridiculous. Rick Nielsen over-the-top going you ridiculous Have a good work ethic. You've got to practice, practice, practice. I'm not telling you what to practice - that's up to you. Rick Nielsen good you good-work work Some people collect this or that. I'm a musician; I collect guitars. Rick Nielsen some-people some musician people I was three years old, and I walked onstage during a performance that my father was a tenor in 'The Barber of Seville.' I walked out onstage, and people started laughing and clapping, and that was it. That was all it took. Laughing and clapping, I still enjoy today. Rick Nielsen enjoy today father people Some people design buildings and aircraft carriers and cars - and I designed picks. Rick Nielsen buildings some-people design people I love guitars, and guitars love me, but sometimes they need new homes where they can live to rock another day. Rick Nielsen day me sometimes love We played with Rush somewhere way early in our career. Rick Nielsen somewhere career early way I like Harvey Mandel. Rick Nielsen like harvey I don't know any American rock bands. Rick Nielsen rock american any know We all record together. We do it live; then, after that, we do overdubs, if we need to, to repair stuff. Usually when we do stuff, we have to make sure we get the bass and drums down, and by doing it live, you're actually playing the song. You're not piecing together a song. Rick Nielsen down you together song I never wanted to be Keith Richards or Jimmy Page. Rick Nielsen keith-richards page never wanted I'm kind of a goony guy, a dweeb or a geek. Rick Nielsen geek guy kind The way I look at it, I'm a songwriter that just happens to play guitar. Rick Nielsen look guitar play way When I write songs, it's just me and a cassette player - or at least it used to be before smartphones - to quickly record a basic idea. Rick Nielsen songs write just me If you don't have a great chorus, write a good bridge first. I often do that and find I write good bridges. Rick Nielsen bridge great good you Look at Bob Dylan: his voice is not a great sound, but it gets the idea across... and that is what's really important. Rick Nielsen great look voice important Living someplace like L.A. seemed awful to me. Rick Nielsen like me living awful I just wanted to write about stuff that was happening in real life, and that's not just love songs about your girlfriend. Rick Nielsen your real love life The only time I have a problem is when I have to get in a vehicle after we play and sit there in a cramped position for a couple of hours to drive to the next place. Then I get super stiff. Rick Nielsen drive place problem time I took one guitar lesson, and they wanted me to play 'Mary Had a Little Lamb' or 'Michael Row the Boat Ashore,' and that was the last guitar lesson that I ever took, so I taught myself what I wanted to know. Rick Nielsen myself me boat guitar
