Miley Cyrus’ ‘Party in the USA’ kills me with jealousy. The melodies are out-of-control beautiful. Rivers Cuomo Read Quote
At 18, I moved to L.A. with my heavy metal band Avant Garde, which was very much influenced by Metallica. At 19, I got a job at Tower Records, and everything started to change very quickly. I started listening to the Velvet Underground, Pixies, early Nirvana, Sonic Youth, and also earlier music like the Beatles. Rivers Cuomo Read Quote
Rock guitar has been around for decades now, and there are so many strong traditions, and so much of it is just burned into my fingers. So, nine times out of 10, when I pick up the guitar to jam something, it sounds pretty cliche. Rivers Cuomo Read Quote
I decided to try celibacy because I heard it would help the meditation, and I tried meditation because I heard it would help with the music. So, it all really comes back to the music. Rivers Cuomo Read Quote
Growing up, I was a giant KISS fan, and the truth is the record I had was ‘Rock and Roll Over,’ and there wasn’t even a clear picture of them in the packaging! So I really had no idea what they looked like; I just loved their music. Rivers Cuomo Read Quote
The truth is, I hate to perform. I get such bad stage fright, it makes me physically ill. Rivers Cuomo Read Quote
Rock and Roll Over’ was the first Kiss album I heard, but I was totally oblivious to their whole image and the makeup and all that. I was so out of touch with the wider world. Rivers Cuomo Read Quote
I really want to disappear, grow a beard, not talk to anyone, not make any friends… I just want to disappear and study. Rivers Cuomo Read Quote