Rock stars come and go. Musicians play until they die.

I just consider myself slightly left-of-center. I'm not your average bear. I - what's the word? I'm not - normal.

Imagine if Beethoven had a tape recorder. Then you'd know exactly what he meant. Maybe he meant 'Da da da da' instead of 'Boom boom boom boom!' Who knows?

I went to the zoo one day and saw a chimp playing with a beat-up acoustic guitar in a way I had never seen before. Instead of using the pick the chimp was banging the neck and tapping it with its fingers. I knew the chimp was on to something so I practiced this new technique in my room for hours until I'd perfected it.

The name Van Halen, the family legacy, is going to go on long after I'm gone.

I don't really know what inspires me to write the music I do, but usually, the music will set the tone for the lyrics.

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.