The blues-rock hero on kicking down doors, hating acoustic guitars, and always watching your money...

1. I couldn't live without my…

"I'm not that attached to things, but there's a sunburst 1960 Les Paul, and out of all the Les Pauls I own, it sounds the best. If I was stuck on a desert island, that would be the guitar. It's not mint condition — it's just a great instrument. There's a reason why it's beat up! 'Cause I wasn't the first person to figure out that it's killer!"

2. In another life I would be...

"I probably would have been some kind of law enforcement — I'd be the guys kicking down the doors, going after the bad guys. It just always kinda intrigued me."

3. The moment it all started...

"I was four — my dad would play Clapton records, and I was like, 'This is the coolest thing in the world!' I wanted to make that sound — I always loved electric guitar. I was not into acoustics — still not! I'm a self-loathing acoustic player — even though I have an acoustic record out! Truth be told, I hate the fuckin' things!"

4. The one that got away...

"My dad helped out this guy at a guitar show called Bill who was building these gold pedals called Klons and selling them out of his car. He needed an amp for people to try them, so my father let him sit in the booth with us. After, Bill said, 'Do I owe you anything?' and he was like, 'Just give Joe one of the pedals'. So I had this Klon, but I've never been a fan. Then, when I was 19 1 took it to one of my first session gigs, with John Leventhal, and he was intrigued by the Klon. Because I was so happy to be there hanging out with real musicians, I just gave it to him! I think it was number 10 or 12 that he made."

5. My Spinal Tap moment...

"Oh jeez, I remember the tour we did in 2002 — we first got a tour bus, but the tour wasn't selling at all. We thought we were rock stars, but then we'd show up to empty rooms! I remember popping in This Is Spinal Tap into the VHS on the bus, and we're watching it, and I'm thinking, 'Y'know their tour's going better than ours!"'

6. The best advice I've ever been given...

"BB King told me, 'Keep doing what you're doing, don't change for anyone, and watch your money.' He was right on all points!"

7. The first thing I play when I pick up a guitar...

"I just kinda noodle. A good chord for tuning on a new amp or a guitar is an A chord with the added five. So that's always the first thing I play, just to make sure it's in tune!"

8. The most important thing on my rider...

"You can keep all the booze and red M&Ms you want, but if there's no Diet Cokes I'm not thrilled with how the day is going.

9. My guilty pleasure...

"I'm the biggest Bruce Hornsby fan — I don't consider it a guilty pleasure, but it's outside of the genre of what I'm supposed to like. We had Bruce on our cruise last year — I was talking to him and he was just astounded that I knew all the old songs, and I was like, 'Dude, I told you — I'm a fucking fan, y'know?"'

10. If I could learn to play one thing...

"I've never been able to learn Cliffs Of Dover. For somebody who rips off Eric Johnson as freely as I do, you'd figure I'd know it — but I can't play it! [laughs] What gets me all twisted is legato — I'm not a legato player, but a lot of that Eric Johnson is a cross between picking every note and a lot of legato, and I just can't get my head around it!"