But in my imagination this whole thing developed and I started mixing up old folk songs with the Beatles beat and taking them down to Greenwich Village and playing them for the people there.
Roger McGuinn

I always got a kick out of it when they called it the California Sound because it really came out of Liverpool and Greenwich Village.
Roger McGuinn

I don't really collect guitars.
Roger McGuinn

I play a couple basic folks songs and break them down. I did that on a six string. I can't recall all the songs on it. There's some finger picking on it.
Roger McGuinn

Leadbelly's guitar is in the Rock n' Roll Hall of Fame.
Roger McGuinn

Now, you can just get a laptop, get some software, put a microphone on it and make a record. You have to know how to do it. It does help if you've had 35 or 40 years of experience in the studio. But, it still levels the playing field so artists can record their own stuff.
Roger McGuinn

Once I've written a song, I sometimes refine them.
Roger McGuinn

That's my favorite subject because it really levels the playing field for artists these days. You don't have to sell out to the record company. You don't have to get a five hundred thousand dollars, or whatever, and pay them back for the rest of your life to record a record.
Roger Mcguinn

The first 12-string guitar I bought was probably around 1957.
Roger McGuinn

Well, I guess that early 12 string. The first Martin I bought. I bought it around 1957 with money I earned as a janitor assistant. I bought brand new. I still have that.
Roger McGuinn


Yes, basically, like you said, I'll work out a chord pattern and work out the lyrics over that.
Roger McGuinn