John Oates Quotations | Page 2

I grew up in Pennsylvania, only fifteen miles away from Daryl where all the local kids with a German background looked like he did.

In our relationship, we don't have that situation. I don't require what he needs, and he doesn't require what I need. I know what I do; I have an amazing life that nobody knows about.

There's a lot of craft in songwriting. The divine inspiration is when the idea comes. It may be a riff. It may be a word. It may be a phrase. It may be a title. Sometimes, in the best of both worlds, that divine inspiration extends through the whole song. I've literally sat down and written a song from beginning to end, almost complete lyrics and everything without ever stopping...in two minutes. The chorus of 'She's Gone' was like that..

We collaborate together. We work with other people. We work by ourselves.

The thing is, we've changed our style but we've never changed the actual roots of what we've done.

A good mustache makes a man for many reasons.

We've been together since we've been teenagers. I can go away and disappear for two years, and when we get back together, it's like nothing ever has changed.

To me, when a great band is playing together, it's amazing for me.

You have to know when to strike and when to retreat.

My guitar playing is a synthesis of traditional American acoustic style and Urban Pop and RB.