35 Quotes by Ronnie Montrose

What made me pick up a guitar? It weighed a lot less than a piano.

I was following my muse and I was very fortunate in having good people around me and it turned out to be a pretty good recording in my opinion.

I had just basically gotten tired of working, touring on the road with a vocalist and the whole process of doing vocal oriented music.

I had prostate cancer that, for me, was debilitating. I didn't touch a guitar for two years, but when I realized I was seeing the light at the end of the recovery tunnel and was going to live pain-free, I realized again that it was a fun little instrument to play.

I felt like I was in a real rut here and so by doing the Open Fire record I was ready to do another vocal album. It was a logical progression.

I think that Gamma sort of got to that point through management and label and the whole deal and it didn't feel right so I stopped it. Period.

I was working with Bill Graham management at the time and it was obvious to everyone concerned that albums like Open Fire, while they were good for me creatively, were not going to be commercially successful.

My philosophy is, honestly, never collected anything that I don't play. I know a lot of people that collect guitars, but for me, I want instruments that I play. And if I don't play them, I don't' want to have them sitting in a closet collecting dust.

When you have a life-threatening illness like cancer, and you're faced with the alternative, it gives doing whatever it is you do a much sweeter taste.