To hell with the rules. If it sounds right, then it is. Eddie Van Halen More Quotes by Eddie Van Halen More Quotes From Eddie Van Halen 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 halfway-theredoing-youselfish 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 bendingguitarcouple 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 bossdelaylines If your going to learn to play lead guitar, get an electric guitar .. it doesn't have to be an expensive one .. acoustic guitars aren't good for learning lead, because you can't play up very high on the neck and they take heavier-gauge strings which makes it hard to bend notes Eddie Van Halen guitarmusicplay I applied to Uncyclopedia Bassists, and was accepted!! Eddie Van Halen bassistsaccepted On 'Van Halen,' I was a young punk, and everything revolved around the fastest kid in town, gunslinger attitude. But I'd say that at the time of 'Fair Warning,' I started concentrating more on songwriting. But I guess in most people's minds I'm just a gunslinger. Eddie Van Halen attitudekidspeople Bass is for people who can't play guitar Eddie Van Halen guitarplaypeople I grew up on a lot of early Beatles, DC5, Cream, Clapton, Page, Beck and Hendrix. Eddie Van Halen hendrixpagesgrew-up I never took guitar lessons. I took classical piano lessons from the age of six when we lived in Holland. Eddie Van Halen pianoguitarage Some people think a song without words isn't a real song. Tell that to Beethoven and he'll kick your ass! Eddie Van Halen realsongthinking I was so used to doing old blues licks with the first three fingers. When I started using my pinky and finding more spread things, that's when I started getting my own style. Eddie Van Halen stylethreefirsts I boil the strings so they stretch. Eddie Van Halen strings 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 bandjamtwo I never dreamt of being a musician for my livelihood. I certainly never would have wanted to be in the business that I'm in, meaning the fame and the glory, the glitter, the rock star, the famous part. Eddie Van Halen rocksmusicianstars 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 pianoguitarmean 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 guitarbridgesnuts I was just a punk kid, trying to get a sound out of a guitar that I couldn't get off the rack, so I built one myself ... I wanted a Gibson type of sound but with a Strat vibrato .. I went to town painting it and I put three pickups back in, but they don't work - only the rear one works Eddie Van Halen guitarmusickids 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 singingwritingpeople The name Van Halen, the family legacy, is going to go on long after I'm gone. Eddie Van Halen legacynameslong 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. Music education and families are dealing with the economic times, and I wanted to help them. If I can help a kid discover a liking, or even a passion for music in their life, then that's a wonderful thing. Eddie Van Halen passionhelpingkids
