MT: I got in a  traffic jam here in Milan and that is why I am so 
late, but I'm ready to answer any questions about my career, no 
personal stuff please.

Q.1: A few weeks ago you were at the Beacon Theatre in NY for J.
Hendrix Tribute, what do you remember of J.Hendrix?

MT: My personal memories of JH go back to 1967 when I first met him 
and to this day he still is probably the only guitar genius I ever met, 
and he continues to impress people, as shown by the interest he still 
generates ; I met Mitch Mitchell who is my own age and I also met R.
Krieger of the Doors who is a most unique guitar player that I only 
knew from the Doors fame.

Q.2:Your memory of the first time you met a guitar when you were a 
small child.

MT: The piano was the first instrument I ever played, but didn't develop 
much skill on it. My mother had a younger brother stationed in Germany 
and he heard US radio, bought a guitar and he started strumming on it,
they were my earliest memories; I was 10 years old, they heard me 
playing and encouraged me to play, I think the first one was a Hofner 
President guitar.

Q.3: First thing I want to tell you is that my son was named Giorgio 
Taylor as a sign of respect for you, I saw you 4 times with J.Mayall, 
the Stones, Alvin lee & B.Dylan what was the nicest experience for you?

MT: They were all nice experience, even if when I first met the Stones 
I thought they were an average blues band who wrote great singles, I 
quite like them but I became serious playing the blues when I heard 
Clapton playing with J.Mayall and that is when I discovered blues and 
the original masters playing (M.Waters, H.Wolf etc.); according to B.
Dylan from since I was 15 years old I was into him (one of the greatest 
poet of 20th Century) and was a great privilege working for him for 
about two years.

Q.4: What is difference from today's and past rock?

MT: I mean, I suppose its difficult to look back over so many years 
and say who looks better, when I started playing everything was new and 
people were rediscovering blues music, now everything is available 
through the internet, when I started it was an underground movement and 
how's today music? I would name Kenny Wayne Shepherd as a good guitar 
player,lots of the guys are well known in the States but possibly not 
much in Europe.

Q.5: What is your ever favourite record?

MT: It is impossible to single that out, and also the record that 
changed my life. I could say a couple of E.Presley songs,maybe the 
Beatles and the Stones that took music to a different level, I can tell 
you about Sgt.Peppers’ as for the Stones I never played much attention 
about them until I heard Satisfaction which is a great rnr song.

Q.6: In your career what was the artist with him you gave and received 
the most?

MT: There have been many peaks, no not many some were memorable, a few 
magical moments on tracks like Time waits for no one, Sway, Moonlight 
Mile but usually I have to say mostly during  a live performance there 
have been many peaks.

Q.7: You lived during one of the darkest moments in rock, Altamont,what 
are your memories of that?

MT: I'm sure most of you are familiar with Gimme Shelter movie about 
Altamont: the movie is very accurate portrait of the chaos, lack of 
organization, it is amazing how naive we were just to do a free concert 
in SF,we all learned a lot from that experience that was never repeated 
by the Stones. I guess that anyone that hired the Hells Angels asks 
for trouble, we were in the studio recording B.Sugar, Wild Horses and 
You gotta move for S.Fingers. Actually there is something strange, I 
have no proof about this but it wont surprise me at all if the water 
supply was spiked with LSD,if you look at the strange expressions on 
the Angels faces, lots of band were treated bad even before the Stones 
went on, some journalists tried to be clever and blamed it on the 
Stones for a badly organized concert. ( Note: My idea: I thought the 
Angels were paid with free beer!)

Q.8: can you tell us which guitars do you use, what are better for you?

MT: I like Fender Stratocaster but I'm not associated with them but on 
stage I use Gibson Les Paul or SG, I'd like to think that all guitars I 
pick up I make it sound like me, my favourite amps is not Vox is Fender 
Twins. (note: he played with Marshall amps tonight).

Q.9 (mine): Mick it has been 10 years from A Stones Throw are you 
working on a new album?

MT: I always say I am, I am always trying to write some songs, I have 
lot of songs and instrumentals that have never been released, also some 
live recording to be released on not so distant future, I'd like to do 
a DVD documentary project.

Q.10 (mine): Is it true you are writing your autobiography?

I was writing my autobiography, I took a break for a few years, my 
memory is still pretty good, that is why I have to be careful not to 
talk too much today, an autobiography is in the pipeline, I just need 
the right publisher to give me lots of money.

Q.11: I would like to know if you could play tonight Blind Willie 
McTell

MT: Yeah, I have a new band we never rehearsed that much, we will play 
Blind Willie McTell, maybe we will do Alabama too (Note: he didn't)

Q.12: I found formidable the live recordings with Dylan, is it 
possible to get more official releases?

MT: (looks like he didn't get the question properly): No BD album is 
out of print, you can get them from amazon, as for unreleased tracks you 
will have to ask Dylans management, there are loads of stuff that will 
be released one day. I did only sessions for one album but it came out 
in 3 albums and a live one.

Q.13: You came many times in Italy, 10 years ago you played with 
Italian singer Ligabue, what is your impression of him and Italian 
music?

MT: I saw one of Ligabue guitar players in one of my shows in London 
some years ago, as for Italian music I always liked opera, it has a 
romantic appeal for me. Zucchero is still popular, I don't know much 
about Italian or any other contemporary rock scene. It is not because I 
live in the past, but because most musicians of my age will give you 
the same answer: it is very difficult to give an answer on actual music 
as I am very busy with my work.

Q.14: you collaborated recently with the great late Nikki Sudden, a 
memory of him?

MT: Lovely man, he was a great Stones fan, I believe he was engaged at 
the time in writing a book on RW which I think it is finished and about 
to be published (!).

Q.15: What was your feeling when you were asked to join the Stones?

MT: Disbelief. Actually I got a phone call from J.Mayall that told me 
they were looking for someone to do some record sessions for them, 
because Brian didn't show up. On the first session I did the guitar 
parts on HTM  and when they asked me to join I told them to give me a 
few weeks to think about it.