'Walk With Me' was written really fast, and that one is about togetherness.
Orianthi
Christmas time... is about bringing everyone together.
I aim to inspire a bunch of female guitar players to get out there and take it seriously and never give up.
I think you can hear the Delta blues thing in something like the intro to 'Heaven in This Hell,' which has that down-home acoustic riff.
I'm a rock/blues guitar player. I'm not wanting to be a pop star or anything.
To be able to work with my idols is incredible. You learn so much, and they're wonderful as people, too.
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.
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.
Pushing yourself and digging into something new, that's what being a musician is all about.
I got to jam with Prince, which is amazing.
Working with Michael Jackson was awesome. He was an incredible entertainer, dancer, singer, magician, everything, and he was really sweet, too.
Girls are supposed to sing. It's the guys' thing to play the guitar. Crossing the line is kind of like trying to be a male ballerina. But if you work long and hard enough, are really passionate about it, people will finally shut up and listen.
My dad is a guitar player with huge vinyl record collection. I loved listening to his albums, especially Cream and The Yardbirds.
I'm actually allergic to sulfate - so I can't have vinegar, and I can't drink wine.
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.
The She Rocks Awards does so much for women in music, and I'm excited to be a part of it.
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 like collecting chickens.
Since I was three, music's been my life.
We kind of grew up in an environment that enabled us to be ourselves.
It's a huge honour to be able to get on stage and jam with an icon.
I have, like, 1,000 voice memos on my iPhone.
When I saw Santana for the first time, I was really inspired. Same with Stevie Ray Vaughn.
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've had pigeons, doves, mice. I had a cat, dogs.
My dad is actually an amazing guitarist, and he always had an incredible record collection, which is how I discovered things like Jimi Hendrix and Santana. I'll always be grateful for that.
My outlook on life is to keep looking up. If you're looking down, you don't see the light. For me, it's all about embracing that and thinking positively.
I've seen some female players, and they get up there and play an A chord and leave... and it's not a good representation. You can take it seriously and love it as much as a guy loves it, not just to get up there and pose.
When you're up on stage, especially being a female guitar player in a male-dominated field, if they just see you're into it, and it's your passion, and you're just giving it your all - it's not, like, an accessory - then it's all cool.
I have an aquarium full of fish and some Mexican walking fish.
Being a female guitar player back in school wasn't great, and I had to change schools so many times. The male drummers and bass players thought it was cool, but male guitar players said, 'It's a guy's thing. You should be doing something else, like playing the harp.'
You go with what you 'get,' and I get playing the guitar. It's a challenge because it's not an easy instrument to play. There are so many interesting sounds you can make out of it and so many different elements. I dig it.
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.
I had a teacher at school who told me to take up the harp.
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.
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.
I love all animals. I'm such an animal lover.
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 think it's important to evolve and make a different record every time as an artist.
I just like to experiment.
Success has been a gradual thing; it hasn't been overnight. So I appreciate everything and never take it for granted.
I'm so excited to share 'Heaven In This Hell' with the fans!
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.
Getting ready for a tour is a big process, and I enjoy every part of it.
When you play a show and you see people singing your lyrics back to, you feel as if they do know you.
I've been playing electric guitar since I was 11, and I love the blues.
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 was called a freak because I was so engrossed in music.
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.
In 2007, when I first moved to Los Angeles, I got a call from Prince, and he had been watching my YouTube videos. It was crazy, because I thought it was my friend calling and pretending to be Prince.
