I love the idea of stepping out of the band situation into a solo world with no boundaries, no expectations, where nothing is out of bounds.
- Tommy Shaw
Love, Nothing, Idea, No Boundaries
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
Think, Original, I Think, Original Music
I have always been a sucker for the big, upbeat chorus.
- Tommy Shaw
Big, Always, Been, Sucker
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
Going, Slippers, Operas, Soap Operas
As a solo artist, I just felt cemented in front of the mike stand. There was very little time to play with the audience and be a band member.
- Tommy Shaw
Play, Audience, Very, Little Time
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
Reason, Some, Minor, Key
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
Song, Come, Wanting, Euphoric
When you sign with a label, they do insist upon certain rights, and if you have a competent attorney, your rights will be protected.
- Tommy Shaw
Will, Sign, Competent, Attorney
We're kind of defined by our mistakes.
- Tommy Shaw
Mistakes, Kind, Our, Defined
I've always stuck with Gibsons. I've had Guilds and Fenders, too, but I always wind up going back to Gibsons.
- Tommy Shaw
Back, Always, Going, Wind
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
Work, Still, Them, Les
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
Mind, Start, Mercenary, Frame
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
Want, More, Figure, Lessons
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
Living, Go, Like, Hotels
You can have fun, but you also have to put on your thinking cap every day.
- Tommy Shaw
Have Fun, Every Day, Also, Cap
I soon gave up instruction for self-teaching.
- Tommy Shaw
Soon, Up, Gave, Instruction
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
Song, I Wish, Nickel, Bathroom
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
Album, By The Time, Learned, Solo
I wrote songs all my life, where anyone wanted to hear them or not.
- Tommy Shaw
My Life, Them, Wrote, All My Life
Songwriting is the other weight on the opposite side of the scale from touring. They balance me out creatively.
- Tommy Shaw
Balance, Other, Side, Creatively
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
Porch, Give, About, Nickel
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
Singing, Alabama, Regional, Hearts
If music became extinct now, I don't know what I'd be good for.
- Tommy Shaw
Music, Now, Became, Extinct
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
Lazy, Doing, Figure, Arrangements
If I have an idea, I write it down, although I usually carry a little dictation machine with me because I'm too lazy to write.
- Tommy Shaw
Lazy, Idea, I Write, Dictation
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
Hire, Going, Cheaper, Recession
I don't write on tour. There is so much to do day in and day out when you are on the road.
- Tommy Shaw
Day, Road, Write, Tour
Make sure you know what you are signing when you sign a recording contract.
- Tommy Shaw
Contract, Sign, Sure, Signing
I'm not the kind of guy who deserves to play a vintage guitar because I'm too rough on instruments.
- Tommy Shaw
Play, Rough, Too, Instruments
Success is fickle, but creativity is a gift.
- Tommy Shaw
Success, Gift, Success Is, Fickle
Timing is everything.
- Tommy Shaw
Everything, Timing
When it stops being fun, stop.
- Tommy Shaw
Fun, Stop, Being, Stops
I don't like looking back.
- Tommy Shaw
Looking, Back, Like, Looking Back
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