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.
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.
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.
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.
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'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.
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 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.
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.
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 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.
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.
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