Keith Valcourt of the Washington Times spoke with iconic guitarist Eddie Van Halen. Excerpts from the interview appear below.
Question: What did the honor from the Smithsonian mean to you?
Answer: It is probably one of the biggest honors you can get. It is bigger than the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame or a Grammy or anything you can win. This is the history of the country. To be recognized as a someone who has contributed to American music, especially being an immigrant, is a hell of an honor.
Q: When you came to America as a Dutch immigrant, did you face hardship?
A: Oh, yeah. We came here with 75 gilders, which is the equivalent of about 50 bucks. We brought the piano with us, and that was all we had. I was in second grade when we came here.
My mother and father couldn’t speak English. Neither could Alex or I. Believe it or not, the elementary school we went to was still segregated. So because we couldn’t speak English, they lumped me in with the black kids. It was actually the white kids who were mean. They used to rip up my homework papers. They bullied me on the playground. The black kids stood up for me. My first friends were black.
My dad was a professional musician, and he ended up having to wash dishes and work as a janitor. My mom was a maid. I’ll never forget, we used to help my dad wax floors at the Masonic Temple in Pasadena. [I] learned how to use one of those floor waxers [and] helped my mom clean houses. But what saved us was music.
Q: How many guitars did you donate to the Smithsonian?
A: I donated the most important ones.
Originally, before I did this event, I donated my red, black and white striped guitar. When I did this event, I donated the black and white guitar that was on the first album. And “Wolfgang,” which is what I play now. And the 5153 amp and 412 cabinet.
Q: Now that rock ‘n’ roll is in the Smithsonian, does that mean it has become respected?
A: I wouldn’t say that. Music is just part of our culture. Whether it is rebellious or acceptable or not I think is irrelevant. I think it is just part of life. To me, it is the universal language that transcends any barriers.
Q: Are you excited to get back on the road?
A: Yeah! We are going out in July. We just did Jimmy Kimmel and the Ellen show. All of a sudden, [David Lee Roth] wants to do the live stuff. We said, “OK, great!” He never wanted to do it before.
Q: You just released Van Halen’s first live record with Dave, Tokyo Dome in Concert.
A: We were trying to figure out what to do since we didn’t have time to put a studio record together.
[My son Wolfgang] is working on his own project. Dave is off doing his thing. What I originally wanted to do was remix the original 25 song demos. That would have been really cool. But the tapes are lost. They are gone. So that was out the window.
Then we started digging through bootlegs from the club days. We tried our best to make those sound good, but ultimately it wasn’t good enough to put out. The quality of the recording was so bad that we tried to enhance them and make them better. Once we made them better, you lost that fly-on-the-wall aspect of it. It just didn’t jive. So we decided, “How about a live record?”
Q: Last time you toured, Wolfgang assembled the set list. Did he do it this time, and are you playing any songs this time out you didn’t play during the last tour?
A: That is yet to be seen. I’m hoping to play some other songs, but a lot of times that comes down to what Dave will sing and what he won’t. Wolf and I talk all the time and say, “Let’s throw this in. Let’s throw that in.” Ultimately, if Dave doesn’t want to sing them, then we can’t do them. I would love to throw in Drop Dead Legs and Light Up the Sky. All kinds of stuff. I think it would be a treat for the audience. Maybe we can convince him this time around
Q: How are things between you and David Lee Roth these days?
A: He is always off doing his own thing. Getting tattoos in Japan. He’s got an apartment over there. He’s got an apartment in New York. The relationship has always been the same, really. Just because he quit back in 1985 to pursue a solo career, the press I think made a bigger to-do out of our relationship being sour than we did, you know what I mean?
When [my son] Wolfgang joined the band, he was actually responsible for calling Dave and getting him back in the band.
Q: Speaking of Wolfgang, we hear he is working on his first solo record.
A: I wouldn’t call it a solo record. It’s not just him. It’s him and one of his best buddies who goes by the name ERock. His real name is Eric Friedman. Those two guys, working with a producer named Elvis Baskette. French for basket. [Laughs.] Between these three guys, it’s just incredible.
Q: What instruments is he playing?
A: Wolf is playing drums. And bass. When he plays bass to his drums, it is so locked in. He plays guitar to it and it is just so damn tight and powerful. It is like a freight train coming at you. Then you add Eric Friedman on top of it, and that’s the icing on the cake. To watch them work and see how much fun they are having just reminds me of the old days. I’m actually jealous.
Q: Musically, how would you describe it?
A: It’s the simplicity in riffs of AC/DC and Van Halen mixed with very progressive pop. More progressive than Van Halen, I would say.
Q: Are there any countries or places you want to play that you have yet to?
A: How about Bora Bora? But it wouldn’t be big enough. [laughs] No, I’m kidding. To me, it is not necessarily the country or where you are playing. It’s the audience. When the audience comes to see you play, they are pretty much the same. They come because they like your music. Half the time, I’m not even aware of where I am.
Q: What is the one thing you always need to have with you on the road?
A: My wife. Our dog, Cody. And obviously my equipment.
Q: Will there ever be another Van Halen studio album?
A: After this touring cycle, we will probably hunker down and do a studio record. We certainly have enough material. It is a matter of timing and getting everybody together. That’s the only way it can be done.
We put out [A Different Kind of Truth] in 2012. But then you go onstage and play those new songs, and the audience looks at you like, “What’s this?” They really want to hear the classics.
Q: Is it frustrating that when you play a new song, the audience makes a beer run?
A: It’s kind of a double-edged sword. Thank God we have so many career tunes that people want to hear — songs they grew up on and that bring back memories of where they were and what party they were at and what chick they were with.
That’s what they remember and want to get back to. But at the same time, it would be nice to be able to put out new music that people would give a chance. Maybe 10 years from now stuff off of “A Different Kind of Truth” will be considered classic and people will want to hear those.
Read Eddie Van Halen’s entire, and extensive, interview with the Washington Times here.
Watch his interview with Smithsonian below.
source: washingtontimes.com
10 Responses
eddie vh,i would love to hear as is,off diff kind of truth,plus you and your blues,stay frosty,and blood and fire,those kick ass,so get after it already,how bout some dirty movies off fair warning,and atomic punk.
I wonder if they would have wiped Mike’s bass tracks from the club recordings and replaced them with Wolfgang if they released that early stuff.
Things that make you go hmmmm. One has to wonder if they “certainly have enough material” to record a new album, why they didn’t use it for “A Different Kind Of Truth”? Anybody else smell a touch of bullshit in that statement? C’mon Ed,turn it loose turn it up,and blow us all way like the old days!!!
I’m skeptical. Every song on ADKOT were very old songs reworked. In all that time it took to hash out lyrics and arrangements they didn’t write one new song…but now there’s a bunch of material? Love VH, but these guys gotta get their stories straight, and by guys, I mean Edward.
Maybe I’m dead wrong, and I hope I am. More VH is always good, just gotta get Dave out of the “Showtunes” and “mr. Jazz hands” mode…but not much can be done about his voice. It’s gone, except for the low registers.
I’m skeptical to. As much as I’d love to hear them crank out some slamming tunes, I wonder if it’s possible at this point. As Michael B pointed out, songs on A DIFFERENT KIND OF TRUTH were made up using old unused VH music. So do they have more of that tucked away in a vault somewhere? If not, are they capable of creating that classic Van Halen magic from scratch again? And another issue is Dave just isn’t the vocalist he once was. His vocal performance these days at times is awful at best. I guess we’ll just have to keep our fingers crossed and hope for the best. And as much as I love EVH as a guitarist, he’s just too unpredictable as a person, a loose cannon for sure. One day he’s all excited but who knows, the next day he could do a complete 180° turn and be down on the industry and want to quit. You have to give credit to those that have stuck by him for their patience and guts, especially Alex, because he seems like a nightmare to deal with sometimes. Sammy describes that oddball behavior in his book.
Gary,
Anybody else smell a touch of bullshit in that statement?
Coming outta EVH nothing but bullshit these days, I do not trust anything he says. Such a shame I used to worship this guy but Ellen with Dave jumping around like it was still 1984 bad bad bad.
A few weeks back a singer is a singer does not matter who it is statement, then yesterday he is stating we would love to play drop dead legs etc but the set list is up to Dave “aka what Dave can try to sing” I do not think Ed is all that happy with DLR voice range at all these days but it is what the masses want!!!!
Eddie’s animosity towards Michael Anthony is ridiculous. He knows it’s what the fans want, but he just doesn’t care.