I'm not sure how many people on this forum are into Nine Inch Nails or North's previous bands, but there is a great interview with him in the latest issue of Total Guitar. Some interesting comments about guitar playing in there, too.
It's been transcribed and put online at a fan site: http://www.north-side.net/?p=219 ... (Not sure about the legality of that... :?)
Some choice quotes:
I have never taken guitar lessons. After discovering punk rock it was suddenly unimportant that I couldn't read music or hadn't bothered to learn proper chords. I still haven't, ‘cos it still doesn't matter. I've never had anyone show me how to play. Even if my playing has been wrong, no-one's every [sic] corrected me.
Well, I don't really have a particular technique. I'm a terrible guitar player really. I'm a total hack! I can't read music or any of that stuff. I could probably play you a G if you really wanted me to, but I never had guitar lessons because I thought it would stunt my growth as a guitar player.
And I never practice! My chops stay up just from playing shows. I think that if I practice too much I'll lose the soul of my playing. I know a few scales, I guess, and I can solo. I don't care about the technical side of guitar playing or if people hit a sour note.
I've been a NIN fan a while, and they always have good guitarists live, but I was really wowed at how he took some songs to new places when he joined. Definitely a unique guitarist, if not the "greatest".
-- Voidious
