10 Questions for Ron Wood

He has been the Rolling Stones' hard-living guitarist for more than three decades. Now he is telling it all in his autobiography, Ronnie. Ron Wood will now take your questions

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The Rolling Stones guitarist answers readers' questions in a conversation with TIME

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Ron Wood, Guitar Hero

You were often the mediator between Keith Richards and Mick Jagger. How do you feel about your role in keeping the band together? —Kathy Lenard, Broomall, Pa.
It is an institution that is well worth keeping together. So I took it upon myself to stop the arguing as best I could. It wasn't just the songwriting. It was having to go through life, day to day. Sometimes that is really hard, and things get misread. I tried to heal the wounds and am proud of myself for that.

I hear that in the book you say Keith once pointed a gun at you and cut you with a broken bottle. Were you ever afraid he might actually kill you? —Andy Baker, Des Moines, Iowa
It was just part of living with Keith at the time. It was like, "You are going to kill me. Go ahead." Then he would say, "I would, but look at all the mess me and your wife would have to clean up afterwards." It was like brothers arguing, and it could turn bad, or we could have a laugh. Our sense of humor pulled us over those dodgy times.

Is it true that Mick and Keith often forget how to play your greatest hits? —George Rosenburg, Ithaca, N.Y.
It is true that sometimes they do forget. [Laughs.] As it says in my book, "Just because I wrote it doesn't necessarily mean I know it." I need prompting too, but I am ahead of the game as far as remembering what they should know.

Was your music affected by drugs for better or for worse? —Aaron Muller, Kansas City, Kans.
Sometimes it was affected for the good. Cocaine used to make you come out with these incredible ideas. We would have a line and go, "Yeah, that is a great song." I can only think of the good items that came out of it, but I wouldn't recommend it to anybody starting out.

You have made comments about Amy Winehouse's alleged drug and alcohol abuse. Do you have any advice for her? —Mike Moll, Bethlehem, Pa.
I think Amy should hang out with winners more than dealers. Sometimes when you are that talented, you are the last one to realize it. So you tend to hide your talent behind getting high. I have been there.

Do you think modern recording techniques have a bad effect on musicians? —M.S. Freedman, Los Angeles
No, I think it is a good thing. Nowadays you can record on your laptop with Pro Tools, which I do quite often. Within one hour I can go in, play my guitar and walk away knowing they can mix it any way they wish. I can't work [the technology] myself. It is quite frustrating. But if I can sit and play and it gets done in five minutes, then it is great!

Are you really broke? How is that possible? —Angie Silverstein, Salt Lake City
I have been rich, and I have been broke. Some of it is my fault for choosing bad management and making bad investments. But that is life — we all take risks. At the moment, I am on a good upswing financially. But that could all change in a minute.

You have a second career as a painter. Has any particular style influenced you? —Edward Romero, Madrid
I am a big fan of the Impressionists, and in my school days, I was inspired by Caravaggio, Velázquez and Rembrandt. All the early influences are still there, but I tried to take my painting in a different way — towards an Expressionist form. I love to get into a landscape and paint my horses. When I come to London, I go to the Royal Opera House and paint the ballerinas. I love the human form, and I like to capture movement in everything that I paint.

Do you have an iPod? If so, what's on it? —Meghan Wieckowski, Boston
Oh, yeah — 5,000 songs loaded straight away. I have anything from Mozart to Marley.

Why did you turn down a guest appearance on CSI? —Kristen Taylor, London
I haven't turned it down. It is still an ongoing thing. They said I could play Uncle Ron the safecracker. [Laughs.] I would love to do that, but it would be a challenge to actually pull it off. I am a big fan of CSI: Las Vegas. The programs are quite good fun. But Law & Order: Special Victims Unit is really my favorite. You've got Ice-T. It's fantastic!

TIME's interview with the Rollings Stones' guitarist continues on Time.com, read these extra questions with Ron Wood. To subscribe to the 10 Questions podcast on iTunes, go to time.com/10questions.