You've always had some tight rhythm chops. Any tips for building stamina whan palm muting/down-picking?

“Yeah, well, it tires my hand out, to be honest with you! It’s just something that came quite naturally. I started doing it when I first started learning how to play guitar. I started off slow with palm muting and it just sort of worked its way into my playing. Then I heard this band called Dag Nasty, and I loved the way their guitarist Brian Baker [now of Bad Religion] played, and also Bob Mould and Bob Stinson. Then, if you take all of those elements, then somewhere you can find me in the middle.

“My right thumb is really calloused. When I started, I had this guitar teacher who tried to show me how to get those Eddie Van Halen sounds like on Ain’t Talkin’ ’Bout Love or something, using your thumb and the pick at the same time. I take it and use it to... I’m not sure what it does to the strings, but it gives it a bit more pow! A bit more of a punchy sound.”