musicNEWS:
Eddie Van Halen Interview
06-10-04
Keavin
.
[submitted article] With a 42-city tour kicking
off June 11th and a brand new album, "The Best of Both Worlds" set to hit
stores on July 20th, Eddie Van Halen is a busy man. In a true world
exclusive and his first major interview in five years, the rock and roll
god talks exclusively to Guitar World about his battle with cancer and
the triumphant return of his band.
Here are some excerpts from his revealing
interview in Guitar World:
On the last six years out of the spotlight:
“Well, a lot happened to me. I had hip-replacement surgery; I beat cancer
and my marriage ended. Those were all important and difficult events, and
I needed time to deal with them. There was nothing really mysterious about
any of it, but all three of those things were extremely personal, and I
didn’t feel the need to share them with the public. But I never stopped
making music. I worked through them, and I discovered there was a light
at the end of the tunnel. And it wasn’t an oncoming train. It changed my
life forever. I’m back, I’m black and I’m chasing young white meat! [laughs]
There is nothing that can keep me down. Whatever stands before me I will
deal with.”
On beating cancer: "I kicked the sh*t out
of cancer. It never occurred to me that I would die. I figured whatever
comes in can also get the f*ck out. And it did. I'm not in remission-the
cancer is gone."
On Van Halen, the band: “There is a huge
misconception about this band and that is without my brother, Alex Van
Halen who is the key would not be. He is and has been there for me since
before I was born…Without me, there also is no Van Halen, because it starts
with me. We are not a rock band. We are a rock and roll band.”
On what brought Sammy Hagar back to the
band: “He called, we had a couple of good conversations and he was back
in. It was as simple as that. Usually when bands break up and get back
together, things are never quite the same. But I think there’s a chance
that this will work out because we’re communicating a lot better. For example,
there was some tension a few days ago. Sam said a few things I didn’t like,
but we ended up talking about it and cleared it up. That’s the way it’s
supposed to work. I gave him a hug and kiss today and told him that I loved
him.”
On growing up Van Halen: “The whole time
I was growing up, my mom used to call me a ‘nothing nut, just like your
father.’ When you grow up that way, it’s not conducive for self-esteem.”
On disciplining his 13-year-old son:
“I don’t believe in punishment. I rarely tell him, ‘Don’t do this.’ I’d
rather try to make him think about the consequences of his actions and
allow him to make his own decisions. For example, if he talks back to me,
I’ll tell him, ‘If you treat someone else the way you’re treating me, you’ll
get your ass kicked.’ He once asked, ‘What’s that like?’ And I responded,
‘You’ll see.’ That’s how you learn. Either listen or learn the hard way,
but you will learn.
On power: “I’ve been in therapy for over
13 years, and my therapist keeps telling me, ‘Focus on yourself, focus
on yourself, focus on yourself.’ Now, when I go onstage, if people start
chanting, ‘Eddie, Eddie, Eddie,’ like they have in the past, I’m not going
to try to silence them because the lead singer doesn’t dig it. Instead
I’m going to say ‘thank you.’ That’s called owning your power; it’s not
abusing it.”
On recording the forthcoming "The Best
of Both Worlds": “Throughout my career, I’ve relied on someone else
to record my sound, and I can’t say that I’ve ever been really happy with
the end result. I never really understood why no one could capture the
sounds make on tape, but I never complained because professional
engineers always intimidated me. Now I’m doing it myself, and I think I’m
getting pretty close.”
When asked what his choices would be for
a Van Halen greatest-hits album: “I don’t know, because I feel the best
is yet to come. The new songs are just an ice cube not even the tip of
an iceberg of what is to come.
For the full interview, pick up the current
issue of Guitar World Magazine, it at newsstands now.
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