Orianthi
I think if you can get the right bunch of people together, and you're in the room and it just feels right, then the music will come.
I'm a rock/blues guitar player. I'm not wanting to be a pop star or anything.
When I was around 11, my dad took me to see Santana live, and then I got 'Sacred Fire,' and everything changed for me.
I was inspired to play electric guitar from listening to a lot of Carlos Santana, Stevie Ray Vaughan, and B.B. King, and that's always been the kind of music that I gravitate toward.
Being the frontperson is great because you're running the show.
Getting ready for a tour is a big process, and I enjoy every part of it.
I think people see me, and they can't get past my looks or the fact that a girl can be serious about playing the guitar.
I'm so excited to share 'Heaven In This Hell' with the fans!
I'm all about inspiring young musicians to get out there and express themselves through music.
Beats are really inspiring. They always make me want to write something over them.
A great guitar solo is really a song within a song. You can always go off and do your pageantry, but it has to be structured.
My favorite solos are all very melodic. Those are the ones that are the most memorable.
If somebody likes your videos, they're gonna tell their friends. They're gonna send e-mails about you, and before you know it, your name is getting around.
Being promoted as a bubble-gum type artist that has one hit and it's all over is not something I want to do. I want a long career. I want to continue to play guitar and have as much guitar in there as possible in a commercial song without being too indulgent.
I play a PRS Custom 22. I learned on a Custom 24. It was set for a country guitarist, so it had a really high action.
I like to just plug in and play; I don't use a lot of effects.
I'd like to be able to get more girls to play guitar. I think with a girl playing electric guitar, sometimes it's seen a bit like a guy doing ballet. All the people I learned guitar from have been guys. There are some great female players, like Bonnie Raitt and Jennifer Batten, but very few.
Music is not a sport - one is not better than the other. You just like what you like and get inspired.
I swear that he is an alien. There is something about his phrasing that is so unpredictable and cool. It makes you wonder where it came from. I wish I could play like that. I listen to Jeff Beck and think, 'Bloody hell!' The way that Jeff Beck and his band play together is just amazing. Yeah, those guys definitely come from another planet.
My dad is a guitar player with huge vinyl record collection. I loved listening to his albums, especially Cream and The Yardbirds.
Eric Clapton was such a great player. He sounds like he's Freddie King or someone like that. He plays the roots of blues and Delta blues. He really affected me with the way that he plays, because he never really plays that many notes.
My dad used to listen to Jimi Hendrix and Eric Clapton, and my mom liked Michael Bolton and Roy Orbison. She was pretty big into country music, too. So there was a wealth of music being played in the house, and I kind of took it all in.
Who didn't want to dance like Michael Jackson? I know I did.
Sometimes I want to hear something fun to cook or bake to; other times, I need specific songs to to lift me up.
I'm always amazed at how records can make you feel like somebody else understands you.
Since I was three, music's been my life.
I'm lucky that my family is musical. Music was encouraged. So when I saw Carlos Santana play and decided to really pursue the electric guitar in earnest, it was OK. My parents knew I was going to go for it.
You want a solo to be structured, a song within a song, but you want it to sound like it's the first time you're playing it, too.
I've been playing electric guitar since I was 11, and I love the blues.
All of my solos are blues based. Even though a lot of my songs get into pop, I wind up going back to the blues. Trying to escape it is like trying to run from the devil.
When you play a show and you see people singing your lyrics back to, you feel as if they do know you.
Pushing yourself and digging into something new, that's what being a musician is all about.
'Rise' is a very empowering song.
When I saw Santana for the first time, I was really inspired. Same with Stevie Ray Vaughn.
I want to collaborate with different artists.
There aren't too many female guitar players.
I'm actually allergic to sulfate - so I can't have vinegar, and I can't drink wine.
My parents went out of their way for me ever since I left school. When I was 15, I said to Mum, 'I'm leaving school,' and she was like, 'Okay.' I joined a cover band and played three nights a week, and they were really supportive of that.
I'd be a chef if I wasn't a musician, that's for sure.
I just love food and the art of it. There's such an art to being a good chef and the way you present food and the different ingredients you use. It's like music - you get inspiration from different genres. It's the same with art, too.
'Guitar World' is one of my favorite magazines.
Playing Michael Jackson's memorial service was one of the hardest things to do because it was literally a few days after he had passed, and Kenny Ortega, who was directing it all, was like 'You're gonna come out and sing.' So not only was I completely shaken up, I didn't know how I was gonna get through it.
I have, like, 1,000 voice memos on my iPhone.
It's not easy being a female guitar player. You have to believe in yourself.
I had a teacher at school who told me to take up the harp.
That's my goal: to inspire more female guitarists out there.
It was pretty insane to play the Grammy Awards and looking out in the audience and seeing rock royalty - Bono and Paul McCartney. It was crazy.
Just never give up. Try to believe in yourself and don't let negativity wear you down.Collection: Giving Up
You have to think outside the box. The world is changing every day, the music industry is so different but I think the more creative you are the better.Collection: Thinking