Depression is something that makes you lose your sight.

I believe that every person has uniqueness - something that nobody else has.

If you copy then it is not self-expression.

Even when I was very depressed, I could hold on to something. It seems that I have always had that streak of gold that I could hold on to.

I love to be creative.

I view life as a learning experience. It is not so much all about music; it is about what happens when you are doing the music.

If everyone would look for that uniqueness then we would have a very colorful world.

I play with feeling so I need to hear what is coming out of the amplifier to inspire me; I don't just play mechanically. I need to hear what I am doing in order to create the next note. If I don't hear it then I can't feed myself.

In order to get somewhere in life, you need to have a vision. The vision brings you to the table. Without a vision, you just do what everybody else does and you are just there.

I have made stage adjustments which allow me to hear myself better onstage so that has made playing live much more enjoyable.

I need to hear what I am doing in order to create the next note. If I don't hear it then I can't feed myself.

I prefer playing in the studio because you have much more control over things.

If you don't get on the field and play then you will be missing out.

It would be a dream come true if I could just go from studio to studio and play solos.

The other thing that has made playing live for me more enjoyable is the audience. I never knew I had such heartfelt, loving fans.

When you are live you never know what is going to happen.

I have always known that it comes from deep within myself. I always knew what sound I wanted, and how I wanted to play. I knew everything, it just had to be developed.

I practiced for at least two hours every day for twenty years, before then I practiced maybe four to five hours a day, and before then 14 hours a day. It was all I had ever done.

If you are a musician and you don't show any interest on the business level then you are actually vulnerable and people will rip you off. They will sweet talk you into anything.

If you are in a band like my brother, Rudolf, who is in the Scorpions, then you have a kind of umbrella and you cover each other. You have five people to discuss things with and you are all in the same boat, and therefore make much wiser choices.