"I love both my parents dearly."

"In most places that are rich in guitar culture, everyone uses their fingers, like in Spain or Africa. In Japan there are string instruments played that way. It is not until you get in the States that you find people using picks."

"I am blessed to have Mom and Dad."

"I had the fortunate experience to play with people from different schools of music. Sam Rivers is from the fundamentalist school of music."

"The worst part is doubt. When you doubt yourself, which we are taught to do, you get lost."

"If you play jazz, then you play with your fingers. If you're playing rock, you use a pick. There's really no rhyme or reason to that other than that's just the way it has been."

"I wish I could sing. I love singers, but I am way too shy. Scares the hell out of me."

"After a while I thought it didn't make any sense to use a pick. It's kind of like typing with one finger on each hand instead of using all your fingers."

"I really worked with icons in the music business, which really had a strong effect on me. It wasn't just pick-up gigs."

"Inspiration is one thing and you can't control it, but hard work is what keeps the ship moving. Good luck means, work hard. Keep up the good work."

"The simple things in life ground me and keep me focused so I'm able to do a good job with what is in front of me."

"My love life doesn't stink; it's nonexistent."

"Being as versatile as I am, I take offense to the notion that no serious musician would not be doing a late night talk show gig. One has to be open enough in other areas to be able to contribute to a show like this."

"I was playing violin for a long time, about 6 years. It takes a while. You need very patient people in your house when you have a violin."

"Dad made it to Gold Shield Detective, so he always busted Robin, my oldest brother, and me. Always got caught, whatever we were doing."

"I consider myself a serious musician. Doing a comedy show does not take away from that in any way."

"I can pay my rent now. I guess I could always do that, but now I can get an apartment with heat."

"I want someone who is open-minded, dedicated to whatever she is doing and isn't afraid to say I love you. As for looks, she shouldn't have three heads. I want a regular human being."

"I really live a simple life and don't need very much to feel good and happy. Don't get me wrong; I believe you should get what you earn. Sometimes you have to fight for it."

"It's shameful what's happening in this country in terms of what we deny our children."

"Sometimes I wonder if I got lulled into not wanting things because I grew up black in this country."

"The things I really learned, I learned from watching my parents. They take care of business. Always have."

"James Brown is the reason I play guitar."

"People see my current success but don't realize I've worked hard to get where I am. I used to clean garbage off the Philadelphia docks and put a lot of time into developing my music."

"My love life is like everyone else's - great, and then terrible."

"I think Wes Montgomery is the greatest jazz guitarist that ever lived."

"Serious musicians are finding it harder and harder to have a voice in the world of music these days."

"I thought people cared about music in a deep way, so I was writing to that spirit in people and in myself. It was me, thinking I knew what was up. Youth, who else can change the world?"

"The belief that we are what the media says we are, what people perceive we are, is soon to be what we think we are. We are treated based on this warped perception. It is hard to get away from it."

"It is hard for a black man to just be himself. We spend so much time in defense of something that is indefensible because there is nothing to defend."