Adam Jones

I'm a self-taught guitarist, but I have a classical music background.

I played violin and got into that Suzuki program in the second grade.

I personally don't like to use as many effects because when you play live, something always goes wrong.

I mean, Tool has a style, but we try to make all our songs sound different from each other.

I listen to Helmet - and I love Helmet, they're a great band - but every song sounds the same.

I haven't listened to much music lately; I've been out of it.

Doing the stereotypical solo bores me.

Different people get different things out of the images. It doesn't matter what it's about, all that matters is how it makes you feel.

But if you want to be in a band and write music, then you should just be in a band and write music.

As far as the grunge thing, there are three bands from Seattle that I would call true grunge.

All the art for Tool is done by the me and the band.

As long as I can remember, growing up we had a guitar around our house, and I was always plucking on it.

I seriously do not think Nirvana is grunge.

In the time between records, I always have lots of stuff going on. I shoot photography, make little sculptures, play video games.

When you don't know what the band looks like, it puts the emphasis on thinking and taking the music and message more seriously.

If you're making music for all the right reasons, people are going to be receptive to that and appreciate it the same way you did when your were writing it.

I never thought 'Stairway to Heaven' was a long song. I loved how there was this part and then there was another part that was completely different.

I like soundtracks and I like film.

There's always the influence of music, film, art and the other things that drive me. I'm usually inspired by my environment and whatever is making me happy or mad.

Everyone in Tool is interested in how we present our music. We write a group of songs that have a vibe, energy and feeling, and then we try to pick an image to capture that and communicate a feeling. We want something that adds to the connection with the audience.

I really like stuff that is collectible that you can hold and go, 'There's only a few people that have this.' I like to see that someone's put a lot of labor into making something.

I've always been involved in the visual arts and music.

Fine art is really something I want to get into.

My approach is to be part of a band that makes music, not hit songs.

We have meetings with our record label to tell them how to market us.