I’d better be on the road, or I’ll be going nuts. I’m not the kind of guy who sits around with a pipe and slippers watching soap operas. – Tommy Shaw
It is all about being open and paying attention to the music in your head. I think most people have original music playing in their heads from time to time. – Tommy Shaw
When I was about 3, my grandfather used to give me and my sister a nickel to sit out on the front porch with him and sing songs. – Tommy Shaw
Once you start thinking about it in a mercenary frame of mind, then you’re finished. You’re a joke, because there are too many mercenaries out there already. – Tommy Shaw
On acoustic guitar I tend to stay in the key of D for some reason. On electric guitar I keep basic: C, G, D, and A. The key of D minor is also real good for me. – Tommy Shaw
We were playing popular music, but we were doing our own arrangements because we were too lazy to sit down and figure out the originals. – Tommy Shaw
I like being on the road, living in hotels. While I’ve got a real nice house, I go crazy when I’m there. – Tommy Shaw
By the time I did that third solo album, I’d finally learned how to do it, but I’d also learned that I liked being in a band. – Tommy Shaw
I wish I had a nickel for every song that I’ve left in the bathroom, written down on a matchbox, or just totally forgotten about. – Tommy Shaw
I’m not the kind of guy who deserves to play a vintage guitar because I’m too rough on instruments. – Tommy Shaw
It was more fun trying to figure out I Want To Hold Your Hand than to take lessons. By this time I knew basic chords. – Tommy Shaw
Les Pauls work out real well for me because I’ll beat the hell out of them and they’ll still work. The only trouble with them is finding good ones. – Tommy Shaw
Songwriting is the other weight on the opposite side of the scale from touring. They balance me out creatively. – Tommy Shaw
When a song gets its legs and begins to come to me, this is the euphoric hook that keeps me wanting to continue. – Tommy Shaw
Around ’75 when the recession hit, club owners started going to disco because it was cheaper for them to just buy a sound system than it was to hire a band. – Tommy Shaw
I was born in Alabama and my first live music experiences were in church. Every Sunday we watched regional gospel groups on television singing their hearts out. – Tommy Shaw
I’ve always stuck with Gibsons. I’ve had Guilds and Fenders, too, but I always wind up going back to Gibsons. – Tommy Shaw
