Creativity Quote by Dan Hawkins

There’s a quiet flex in Hawkins calling a Les Paul Standard his “starting point,” but it’s the kind that lands because it’s practical, not performative. In an era where guitar culture can turn into an arms race of boutique pedals, signature models, and endless “tone chasing,” he’s planting a flag in something almost stubbornly classical: one workhorse instrument, used everywhere, every time.

The key move is the phrase “still” - a nod to how tastes, bands, and gear trends mutate, while his relationship to the Les Paul has stayed fixed. That stability reads like identity. He isn’t just describing a tool; he’s describing a baseline self. “Every gig I’ve ever had” turns the guitar into a witness, a continuity device across different rooms, lineups, and versions of success. It’s a musician’s way of saying: I’ve changed, the industry’s changed, but the core signal has remained mine.

Then he shifts from stage to studio without changing the object, which is the real tell. Live and recorded music often reward different choices: reliability and projection onstage, nuance and adaptability in the booth. Hawkins collapses that divide. The subtext is trust - in his hands, in the guitar’s predictability, in a sound that doesn’t require reinvention to feel current.

Culturally, it’s also a small defense of rock’s tactile values. The Les Paul Standard is heavy, analog, unapologetically physical. Making it the “starting point” suggests a creative philosophy: begin with something real, proven, and personal, then build outward.