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" I'm the one in the band that said I'm not going on tour unless we do a record. "
Eddie Van Halen
Unless
Record
Said
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" The stainless-steel frets were a major breakthrough, because of the amount of playing and bending that I do. I have to get my guitars refretted every couple of months. "
Eddie Van Halen
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Playing
Months
" My son, Wolfgang, plays drums, guitars and bass. "
Eddie Van Halen
Plays
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Drums
" Music is for people. The word 'pop' is simply short for popular. It means that people like it. I'm just a normal jerk who happens to make music. As long as my brain and fingers work, I'm cool. "
Eddie Van Halen
Brain
Work
Short
" The one thing I do have is good ears. I don't mean perfect pitch, but ears for picking things up. I developed my ear through piano theory, but I never had a guitar lesson in my life, except from Eric Clapton off of records. "
Eddie Van Halen
Life
My Life
Guitar
" I don't really know what inspires me to write the music I do, but usually, the music will set the tone for the lyrics. "
Eddie Van Halen
Tone
Music
Me
" We make music for a living. Like I've always said, if you like what you're doing, you're halfway there; if someone else likes it, that's even better. If they don't like it, at least you like it. Not to be selfish, but you kind of have to be. "
Eddie Van Halen
Music
You
Doing
" I grew up on a lot of early Beatles, DC5, Cream, Clapton, Page, Beck and Hendrix. "
Eddie Van Halen
Page
Early
Cream
" 'For Unlawful Carnal Knowledge' took a year to record; that's why the playing on it might sound somewhat labored. 'Balance,' on the other hand, was written and recorded in only four months, so the whole process was quicker and more immediate. "
Eddie Van Halen
Why
Process
Knowledge
" It's funny, when bands or younger musicians ask me: 'So, what does it take to make it?' Well, first explain to me what you mean by 'making it': Do you want to be a rock star or do you want music to be your livelihood? "
Eddie Van Halen
Famous
Musicians
Music
" I started doing all kinds of weird stuff on the guitar, which became part of my playing. I started doing harmonics and tapping on the guitar and pulling off strings and doing all this weird stuff that no one had ever done before. "
Eddie Van Halen
Weird
Doing
Done
" If you want to be a rock star or just be famous, then run down the street naked, you'll make the news or something. But if you want music to be your livelihood, then play, play, play and play! And eventually you'll get to where you want to be. "
Eddie Van Halen
Rock
You
Music
" If you have a great-sounding guitar that's a quality instrument and a good amp, and you know how to make the guitar talk, that's the key. It starts with the guitar and knowing what it should sound and feel like. "
Eddie Van Halen
Guitar
Feel
Good
" I don't feel a day older when it comes to my approach to music or what gets me off than when I was a teenager. I've always been into different kinds of stuff and when I play I like to play loud. I like my arm hairs to move and I like my body to vibrate 'cause I like the feel of it; I'm still a teenager at heart. "
Eddie Van Halen
Heart
Play
Music
" It comes back to the same old question people are always asking me: 'When are you going to do a solo record?' Well, if I did, it would probably be similar to 'Baluchitherium,' meaning it would be Van Halen music - which I write anyway - but without singing. "
Eddie Van Halen
Me
You
Singing
" I destroyed a lot of guitars trying to get them to do what I wanted, but I learned something from every guitar I tore apart, and discovered even more things. Things like if the string is not straight from the bridge saddle to the nut, you're going to have friction. "
Eddie Van Halen
More
Trying
Bridge
" I'm not a rock star. Sure I am, to a certain extent because of the situation, but when kids ask me how it feels to be a rock star, I say leave me alone, I'm not a rock star. I'm not in it for the fame, I'm in it because I like to play. "
Eddie Van Halen
Rock
Situation
Alone
" Cancer is like a cockroach. It just comes back stronger. I'm tearing apart the immune system of the cockroach and seeing how it ticks. I've opened up my own pathology center. "
Eddie Van Halen
My Own
Seeing
Back
" Everything I did is because I wanted to do it. If I weren't playing this arena, if I were playing a club, I'd still be doing it because that's what I want to do. I love playing the guitar. "
Eddie Van Halen
Want
Love
Guitar
" The only band I was really over-into was Cream. And the only thing I really liked about them was their live stuff 'cause they played two verses, then go off and jam for 20 minutes, come back and do a chorus and end. And I love the live jam stuff, the improvisation. "
Eddie Van Halen
Band
Back
Two
" I'll always leave the same set of strings on my guitars when I'm recording. If I break one I'll just replace it instead of putting on a whole new set of strings. "
Eddie Van Halen
Same
Always
Break
" It's always about the music, never about anything else. "
Eddie Van Halen
Music
About
Never
" On 'Honeybabysweetiedoll' I used a Whammy, a Boss OC-3 octave box, a Sustainer and a Line 6 DL4 Delay Modeler. That's only on the intro, where all those weird noises are happening. "
Eddie Van Halen
Weird
Used
Line
" Music kept me off the streets and out of trouble and gave me something that was mine that no one could take away from me. "
Eddie Van Halen
Away
Me
Music
" Imagine if Beethoven had a tape recorder. Then you'd know exactly what he meant. Maybe he meant 'Da da da da' instead of 'Boom boom boom boom!' Who knows? "
Eddie Van Halen
You
Imagine
He
" A good producer brings out the best in the artist he's working with. You shouldn't be able to listen to something and say, 'So-and-so produced this album.' "
Eddie Van Halen
You
Artist
Best
" It's all about sound. It's that simple. "
Eddie Van Halen
Simple
About
Sound
" You know, most people, they want to go to Hollywood. They want to be a star. They want to be a rock star. That thought never entered any of our minds, the Van Halen family. "
Eddie Van Halen
Thought
You
Rock
" Actually, if I could deliberately sit down and write a pop hit, all my songs would be pop hits! Let's put it this way. I play what I like to hear. And sometimes I like to hear something poppy, and sometimes I don't. "
Eddie Van Halen
Like
Down
Play
" There are really three parts to the creative process. First there is inspiration, then there is the execution, and finally there is the release. "
Eddie Van Halen
Creative
Three
Process
" It makes me feel kind of weird, but obviously the Man Upstairs gave me something and it touches people, and I'm just so blessed. "
Eddie Van Halen
Blessed
Weird
People