The human mind is like Van Halen. If you just pull out one piece and keep replacing it, it just degenerates.
My first impression of Van Halen was that David Lee Roth was a god, and that so was Eddie.
Eddie Van Halen was probably the most influential.
Without a doubt, Eddie Van Halen is the greatest guitar player who has ever lived.
Van Halen can keep providing the rain and I'll keep providing the parade.
I believe that the art market is in a place similar to the music industry in 2005. Big changes are coming and the art market will most likely be very different in ten years. However, if you are the art equivalent of Van Halen, you don't really have to change anything. But if you are not Van Halen, then it is time to figure how to adapt to all the changes.
I admire Eddie Van Halen and Steve Lukather, but they might blow me away quite easily if we were to jam together.
These days I don't look to other people with the objective of trying to steal their licks, although I've got no objections to stealing them if that seems like a good idea. I'm sure that I'm still influenced by Mark Knopfler and Eddie Van Halen as well. . . . . . I can't play like Eddie Van Halen. I wish I could. I sat down to try some of those ideas and can't do it. I don't know if I could ever get any of that stuff together. Sometimes I think I should work at the guitar more.
I really think that Van Halen has two choices if they want to continue. And maybe they don't want to continue, because they don't seem to do much.
Punk-rock gave music back to people. For a long time, when I was very young, I went to go see arena rock bands. I was 16 and it was all I could get in to see, legally. And I saw Led Zeppelin and Ted Nugent and Van Halen and all that. Me and [Minor Threat and Fugazi vocalist] Ian MacKaye would go to these concerts, and it was fun.
If you put a Van Halen album in your record collection, it will melt all the rest of your records.
When I was 13, I was just figuring out how to play 'Eruption,' poorly, by Eddie Van Halen.
I was more influenced by players like Randy Rhoads and Eddie Van Halen than by the guys in southern rock bands.
The first Van Halen album makes Johnny Rotten out to be what he really was and still is: a hairdresser.
It's the most natural progression for me to becoming a singing sensation next. And so many people have offered to be on it. Eddie Van Halen. . . and Prince, Madonna and Cyndi Lauper will probably be a backup trio.
If I had had a chance to tour with Van Halen before the record, I think it would have been a different record.
I had a solo career before Van Halen. My fan base filtered through Van Halen with me and came right on out the other side with me.
I'd say it ["I Can't Drive 55"] has probably been the most successful song I've ever been involved with, including any Van Halen songs.
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.
Loial, son of Arent, son of Halen, had secretly always wanted to be hasty.