I did play a ’63 Relic. Before people cared about FOB I played a lot of Les Pauls and Les Paul Juniors. - Joe Trohman

When I was a kid, my parents got me into piano, viola, and trombone. They were the three instruments I went through. The moment I started playing trombone, which was the last one before guitar, I knew I wanted to play guitar really badly. I was a huge Metallica fan, and I’m really into Slash. I’ve always thought he was the coolest dude, and like the greatest guitar player. He’s awesome, and I love the fact that he did everything himself. He made the world of guitar fit around him, rather than him fitting around the world of guitar, which I think is really cool.

I’ve tried to make myself someone who can play a decent variety of stuff. I’ve even made myself learn things that I didn’t want to learn, a kind of picking or playing that I just never would’ve gotten into otherwise. It’s made me an all-around better player.

We mean a lot to each other as musicians and people, but sometimes we start believing what people write about us: The band is just one guy or two guys. That can be harsh for the soul.