55 Quotes by Allan Holdsworth

I grew up listening to Ravel, Debussy, Bartok and jazz like Charlie Parker, Dizzy Gillespie, Cannonball Adderley, Charlie Christian and Django Reinhart. It was incredibly inspiring! And I was given a guitar and I said 'What the hell is this?!'

Whenever I watch a movie I like to imagine what sort of music I might compose for a scene, to create a particular kind of atmosphere, because when I see something I hear something.

I started out in rock, but I didn't want to stay there, and haven't.

We used to work with a promoter in Italy who used to book for shows with nine hour drives in between, so we got a new promoter.

I'd get another job before I would play music I don't enjoy. But then, I'm really not qualified to do anything else.

I'm trying to play tunes in a new way, using all the same scales, harmonies, structures, but twist everything a little bit so that it comes out sounding different.

My music is written with one goal in mind: to improvise. It's like explaining a great story in words, but without words, much faster than you could with words. It's like a direct line of instantaneous communication where you don't have to wait for the end.

In a way, I think the whole business is pretty corrupt. It's like anything else where people make a lot of money - it's really hard for the little guy.

There are good people in radio and the record companies, but there are others who are completely in the wrong job and holding music up in the process.