The easiest place to get a natural harmonic on any string is at the 12th fret. All you do is lightly rest one of your left-hand fingers on a string directly above that fret and then pick it.

To make harmonics scream, I first dump my Floyd Rose real quick, hit a harmonic with my left hand while the string is still flapping, and then use the bar to pull it up to the pitch I wanna hit.

Play the pentatonic blues scale, just for fret- and pick-hand dexterity and to mesh them both together.

Losing control of your pick on stage sucks, so I scratch some deep X's into both sides of my pick with something sharp, like a dart.

Using string bends instead of just playing regular, unbent notes can definitely help give certain riffs a cooler, heavier edge.

Initially, I just used the guitar as a prop. I'd pose with it in front of a mirror in my Kiss makeup when I was skipping school. Then I figured out how to play the main riff to Deep Purple's 'Smoke on the Water' on just the E string. Next, my old man showed me how to play barre chords, and that's when things started getting really heavy.