Eddie Van Halen Quotes
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We're musicians. We make music for a living. It's that simple. Nothing else matters.
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Practice. I used to sit on the edge of my bed with a six-pack of Schlitz Malt talls. My brother would go out at 7pm to party and get laid, and when he'd come back at 3am, I would still be sitting in the same place, playing guitar. I did that for years - I still do that.
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I'm not a drunk anymore, but since they cut out my tongue, I sound drunk.
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I've had a hip replacement, I've beaten cancer, I had my hand operation, and I stopped drinking. Something inside of me just went, 'I'm done.'
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I just consider myself slightly left-of-center. I'm not your average bear. I - what's the word? I'm not - normal.
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The piano is a universal instrument. If you start there, learn your theory and how to read, you can go on to any other instrument.
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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.
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When Van Halen started out, there was no path to fame. We just played what we liked. Even today it always comes down to the simplicity of rock and roll.
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Some people think a song without words isn't a real song. Tell that to Beethoven and he'll kick your ass!
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My son, Wolfgang, plays drums, guitars and bass.
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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.
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When I'm home on a break, I lock myself in my room and play guitar. After two or three hours, I start getting into this total meditation. It's a feeling few people experience, and that's usually when I come up with weird stuff. It just flows. I can't force myself. I don't sit down and say I've got to practice.
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'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.
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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.
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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.
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It's always about the music, never about anything else.
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I was trying to take the band in a direction that I thought was appropriate, and Roth was trying to take the band in more of a Las Vegas direction. And there he is.
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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.
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If I can help a kid discover a liking, or even a passion for music in their life, then that's a wonderful thing.
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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.
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I have selective hearing.
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I never took guitar lessons. I took classical piano lessons from the age of six when we lived in Holland.
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Nirvana was huge, but it didn't appeal to everyone.
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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.