I don't know if I have enough guts to do a whole standard jazz record.

If people get to the end of the record, then that is a treat.

You have Extreme and Van Halen and the history that I have with other people I played with. There are some effects that will hopefully break that stereotype.

I have a little history. I met Stone Temple Pilots, and their guitar player was a huge Extreme fan. Somewhere down the road, Extreme made its statement.

In my writing with Extreme, there are heavy themes. The cover photo has me with a gun to my neck. I am not advocating suicide. I am taking the philosophy that man is the measure of his own fate.

When I was in Van Halen I was hitting notes that were out of my range. I never went for those registers before until Eddie pulled it out of me.

If I had had a chance to tour with Van Halen before the record, I think it would have been a different record.