Of Tom Verlaine, Patti Smith once said, “Tom plays guitar like a thousand bluebirds screaming.” and to listen to Tom, is to know exactly what she means. But there is a gentler side of Verlaine; the guy who comes through in songs like Pillow and 4.A.M and Stalingrad – this is the Tom Verlaine that I grew to love, long before I knew that he had played with Patti Smith on Horses, or so it was rumored, and yes, I knew Tom could belt out a song like nobdy else, and I mean, like nobody else because Verlaine has a style and a method all his own, and it’s hard to pin-point precise musical influences, though he reveals some in this interview.