Eddie Van Halen
Eddie Van Halen
Edward Lodewijk "Eddie" Van Halenis a Dutch-American musician, songwriter and producer. He is best known as the lead guitarist, occasional keyboardist and co-founder of the hard rock band Van Halen. He is considered to be one of the world's greatest guitarists, and one of the most influential rock guitarists of the 20th century. In 2011, Rolling Stone magazine ranked Van Halen number eight in the list of the 100 Greatest Guitarists. In 2012, he was voted in a Guitar World...
NationalityDutch
ProfessionGuitarist
Date of Birth26 January 1955
CityNijmegen, Netherlands
I wanted a Gibson type sound, but with a Strat vibrato ... I bought a body from Charvel for $50.00 and a neck for $80.00 - I slapped it together, put an old Gibson PAF in it and painted it up with the stripes
I took classical piano lessons from the age of five.
We're musicians. We make music for a living. It's that simple. Nothing else matters.
Eventually you'll take the phrases and rhythm patterns you've copped and begin to put your own mark on them
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.
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.
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.
Holdsworth is so damned good that I can't cop anything. I can't understand what he's doing. I've got to do this [does two-hand tapping], whereas he'll do it with one hand.
I grew up on a lot of early Beatles, DC5, Cream, Clapton, Page, Beck and Hendrix.
The name Van Halen, the family legacy, is going to go on long after I'm gone.
I just consider myself slightly left-of-center. I'm not your average bear. I - what's the word? I'm not - normal.
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?
It's always a Catch-22 situation. They hate you if you're the same, and they hate you if you're different.
I have selective hearing.