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Richards so elegantly wasted, and I wanted to be part of that life, you know? It wasn't so much the music, it was the life. And the Rolling Stones were the people that really introduced me to the life. I was a little bit young for the Velvet Underground and the Stooges, but I camped out on Christmas Day 1972 to get those tickets, and that for me was kind of when I joined the life. The rock life. It was the first time I ever smoked marijuana, the first time I ever bonded with what you would call hippie types, and I was so straight growing up, completely straight. Never got drunk, never really partied, had sex or anything like that, you know, until my early twenties. I made up for it, because once you're in the life, you know, it's been a pretty good haul. Even now, it's sometimes hard to stay interested in rock'n'roll, but every once in a while you'll see a show like Oasis at the Music Hall, or Ween at Liberty Lunch, a show that just makes you so happy, it fills you with so much joy, it keeps you interested. Recently I saw Sun Volt at Liberty Lunch, and they were just phenomenal. The thrills are further apart than they used to be, but they're still thrilling. There's a real caste system in rock'n'roll, and I didn't want to be just a fan. I wanted to be a little further up than just a fan. I wanted to try to make some sense of everything I was feeling. I think instinctively I want to write about my life and then rock'n'roll became a big part of my life. I think I was able to write about it in terms that weren't just musical, but were more personal. And that's how it is. I'm not speaking for the whole world, I'm not speaking for the Austin-American Statesman, I'm just speaking for myself and the connection I have with music. Everything I write is true to me at the time. Sometime the truths can change, though. Early in the year you might say, "This is the best record of the year," then later on it's #5 on your list. Your opinions change. I do everything at a gut level — that decides what I like and what I don't like. I love AC/DC even though critics don't like AC/DC

Yeah they do. Critics love AC/DC.

Well, they're starting to. They didn't when AC/DC came out. Because AC/DC came out right when punk rock came out and people thought you had AC/DC on this side and the Ramones on this side, but for me the AC/DC was much more punk than the Ramones, they were totally raw and in your face. There's just certain music that affects me. Chuck Berry, I'm more from that school, the Chuck Berry, AC/DC, Rolling Stones — just sort of like the jackhammer riffs and I think that Chuck