Tak & Eddie Interview

From Young Guitar Magazine March 1999 - thanks blackpanties99.  Yeah there are some translation errors, because I don't really know Japanese, but you'll get a rough idea.  

What was your first step in becoming a guitarist? Eddie Van Halen: Ah, my reason for starting the guitar...  I don't think I really wanted to play the guitar.  When I was young there were no guitar records that I thought were really interesting, nothing so special that made me excited.  When I was living in Holland, me and Alex (Van Halen) were receiving classical piano lessons.  After we moved to America, I received a real shock from seeing "A Hard Day's Night", and then I wanted to play drums. Tak: Ah, the Beatles. EVH: Yeah, and then I really liked the Dave Clarke Five, so when I was 11 I gave up piano and started the drums.  We didn't have much money so I had to get a paper route to pay for the drum kit.  But Alex had nothing to do with rock'n'roll, he was taking flamenco guitar lessons.  Our parents had strongly recommended it. A famous episode! EVH: My entry to the world of guitar was when me and Alex were playing drums at home, and Alex was much better, so I thought "OK he'll play drums and I'll play guitar".  I felt there was nothing I could do about it.  So guitar was my third instrument after piano and drums. By the way, now I'm playing cello.  I was listening to YoYo Ma, and he is a really amazing cellist. Tak: When I was at junior high, I heard some Beatles' songs, but I never imagined that I would be playing guitar myself. Then I was listening to my friend's Deep Purple, which, when it comes to guitar, has to be considered amongst the best. (laughing)  So when I entered high school, I took up the guitar. EVH: For me, Cream was my biggest guitar influence.  When I heard Cream I thought that the guitar world really had some energy.  Before that there were no guitar bands I liked.  Dave Clarke Five had almost no guitar, drums was the main thing.  When I started listening there were no band members that I really liked.  Beatles also didn't have much guitar, so I received a really strong impression from Eric Clapton's playing in Cream.  I didn't think Blind Faith was all that good though. After that I was very interested in Clapton's playing and had a lot of respect for him. Now the public's taste has changed, mine also, these past three years my playing has been really different.  It's been many years since I started playing.

Was your first guitar a classical guitar Eddie?

EVH: Yeah it was.  I thought it I could just master a barre chord, it would be a dream come true.  I was playing guitar for hours just strumming chords (demonstrates).  I didn't have an amplifier so I put the guitar on the desk to make the sound bigger.  I never thought of trying to play anything technical, I was just trying to find chords I liked.

It's the same when everyone starts.  What was your first electric guitar?

Tak: Mine was a Les Paul copy.

EVH: Speaking of copies, there are some good ones around. Mine was Teisco Del Ray.  It had four pickups and four control knobs. But I didn't know that I would end up using only one pickup and the volume control, it was actually the reverse of the guitar I really should have bought, but that was an accident.

How were you practising then?

EVH: When we were children, Mom wanted us to practise every Friday and Saturday night until 10pm. I had an old record player and I'd listen to Eric Clapton on 16rpm to get the licks down at slow speed.

Tak:  I was the same.

EVH: On those old recordings the guitar was mainly coming out of the right speaker.  When I wanted to learn the guitar solo, I'd put it back up to speed, and play along with it.  Mum would say "Stop making that screeching sound!".

At that time did you think the piano lessons had any value?

EVH: I think basically piano was my first real instrument ear training.  I didn't learn how to read music, my teacher would point out the notes, and I became very strong at picking out the notes by ear.  Whether my ears have been particularly good for my life I don't know. Do you know an Australian movie called "Shine"? It's a story about a pianist with a mental illness. Basically Alex and me were living that kind of life when we were young.  Our parents were very strict and they made us play the piano, it was just like in that movie.  Every year I competed in a piano contest held by the Long Beach City university, and I won it three years in a row.  There were over 2000 contestants. Interestingly enough, some judges commented that I had a very unique style of playing.  As you know, I can't read music so I had to depend on my own perceptions and taste. Maybe it was quite impressive for the judges.  

In Japan, piano lessons are traditionally associated with snobbish upper classes.  

EVH: But piano leads to orchestra, and I think it's really good ear training.  I think it's good for overall musical development. But as for learning to read piano, violin, and cello music, I haven't a clue.  Drums are good for me!  

Mr Matsumoto, before you picked up the guitar, what instrument were you playing?   Tak: I was playing Electone (Yamaha Keyboard).  But I thought baseball was more enjoyable.  My Electone teacher said if I stoppped they'd give the tuition fees back.  Eventually they came to my house and returned the fees forcibly. (laughing) EVH: Hahaha! Tak: Usually guitarists can't read music, they just depend on their ears and their feeling.  But in the studio, many guitarists have come from a piano background, so most of them can read music. EVH: But so far I haven't been stopped by that.  Often it's totally random what happens.  Whatever instrument I started on was totally random, piano or guitar it's just chance. I don't know what would have happened if I'd learnt to read traditional classical music and play piano really well. Maybe my originality would have been lost.  I think that I'm able to communicate my spirit and personality.  Maybe this couldn't have happened using classical music.

What did you think when you first listened to the playback of your first studio recording?

EVH: The record company Warner Brothers gave us 2 days to record a 25 song demo tape.  I can't really remember it.  The first day we had a band meeting, the second day we got stuck into the recording.  After that there were two days of mixing. Alex and two people from Warner did that.  The staff listened to that demo tape.  At that time Led Zeppelin was the popular sound.  I was a bit worried about listening to it, we were listening without reverb or echo.

Now that would be unimaginable.

EVH:  When we made the first album, we had the freedom to make a unique sound.  I didn't know how to play in the studio, and I didn't know how to do overdubbing, so apart from two songs they were all played live to tape.  Aside from "Running With The Devil" and "Jamie's Crying" it was all live.

Tak: That album sounds really great.

EVH: It was OK.  That way of working was unique, it wasn't quite what I had in mind, but playing it all live captured a natural sound.

How about Mr. Matsumoto's first recording? Tak: Well before I had a band, I was a studio musician, so that was my first recording. EVH: I'm not very good at being a studio musician. Tak: I was playing other's songs.  I had to rely strongly on reading charts, so whatever I did I couldn't make any guesses. EVH: That's pretty skilled! Tak: No, no! EVH: I disagree (laughing).

Conversely, when did you start to think "From here on in I'm a pro!"?

EVH: Becoming a pro?  It wasn't about being able to play skilfully, it was about being able to make money, when the money started coming in I thought I was a pro. (laughing) Yeah when some of our songs started to get popular on the radio, I thought I was a pro. When I was young and heard a popular band on the radio, I wanted to enter that same world. (laughing)

When did you get that feeling?

EVH: When I was 15.

So at 15 you thought you wanted to be a pro.

EVH: Music has been everything.  There's nothing else I can do. My family didn't have enough money to send me to university. I went to a technical high school, but I can't remember any of that, speaking of entering university, it wasn't a possibility for me anyway, I had no intention of doing that. Alex and me were active but we just wanted to do music.  We thought we could do it, so we could do it.  From the age of 4 my father made his living playing clarinet, so the musical life was all there was, there wasn't anything else, it was natural to keep going with music, and I've done so up until now.  There was never any concept of being a "rock star". Being a "musician" to me means that after I die, my musical works will live on.  Being a "rock star" is nothing to do with it.

Mr. Matsumoto, can you speak about when you started playing as a studio musician?

Tak: When I was 20 I made a demo tape, it was a kind of progressive rock band.  If I hadn't made that demo tape with the band, there might not have been any session work for me to speak of.

So from your very first step up until now, you had to develop your own style?

EVH: Yeah.  We were playing 45 minute sets, and when we received our audition we were playing top 40 stuff like "Get Down Tonight" - disco and that.  We were really worried about playing that because we were a 3 member rock band trying to play like the original song, but I always found that the music I played contained my own taste or style.  I like playing guitar, I feel responsible for it. I often got complaints from the audience that my playing was too psychadelic, but because of that I felt that I had my own style, I wasn't just a copy band.  

And Mr. Matsumoto?

Tak: I don't know, when I listen to my teenage guitar playing, I don't know if my style has changed or not.

EVH: Mine hasn't changed either.  Maybe I got a little better.

So now, tell us what you think is the best method of entering the rock world?

EVH: I dunno what you have to do, whether entering a music school is a good idea or not.  When we made our demo tape Gene Simmons (Kiss) was there and that helped!  It might have gone the other way.  1 year later we had signed a record contract.  The audiences were really changing too. We started playing at home parties, then 3-4 years later were playing in front of 5000 people, so the record company's eyes landed upon us.  It was all a bit of a gamble.  My spirit hasn't changed now.  The new vocalist Gary Cherone hasn't changed that either, we just want to do a straight performance in front of everybody.  But on the other hand, Van Halen III is a totally new band, and we have to let the audience and fans know that on our own, without relying on the record company or the radio.

Mr. Matsumoto, you started your career as a session guitarist. comparing with the way Eddie entered the pro world, what do you think are the merits or demerits?

Tak: Well of course being in a band is better, but playing in sessions, you can play with so many kinds of people, and play lots of music you wouldn't choose to play yourself. If you can't derive satisfaction from that, there's not much point playing is there?  Looking back it was all very good for me.

EVH: I've been helped every step of the way by my brother Alex, and also my music friends, my relatives, & my partner. If I was alone I couldn't have done it, I frequently rely on my brother.

Eddie and Mr. Matsumoto, you're both guitarists with your own unique sound, could you talk about how you got that?

EVH: I think you're trying to link the sound to specific pieces of equipment, but for example if you got me and Tak to play the exact same song on the exact same acoustic guitar, I think the sound would be very different. The stuff apart from the amp and the equipment is very important, to emulate the exact touch and picking strength, all the little nuances is very difficult.  A computer couldn't do it, so guitarists will always be first!

Apart from the amp what other stuff do you use.

EVH: I can't forget the time I opened for Ted Nugent on the Maryland River.  At the sound check, Ted - he's a really interesting guy - shouted oout "What is this black box you're using?".  Maybe he thought I couldn't produce that sound without some magic. (laughing) Anyway at that time I was using my own guitar, a flanger, a phaser, an echoplex, Marshall amps and cabinets.  Anyway, when Ted played through my exact equipment with the same sound he still didn't sound like me.  So I don't think all the other stuff is so important.

Tak: I think so too.

EVH: Although effects have been a big influence on my technique.

So tell us how you got onto the 5150 amp.

Tak: The 5150... Two years ago I was working in America with Andy Jones.  Do you know Andy Jones?

EVH: Yes indeed.

Tak: Andy was carrying a 5150, so then I used one for the first time.  It was really good, so I brought some back to Japan and began using them.

EVH: Actually we've got a new model coming out.  I'm using two prototypes at the moment.

Tak: But they're not in production yet?

EVH: Yeah.  They'll be released early 99.  Before we put the thing on sale we have to check everything out.  I think it'll be completely sorted. The 5150 was a very powerful amp, but used as a three channel amp the clean channel wasn't clean.  If you turned the volume down you could kind of do it.  But the 5150-2 has built on the 5150.  The 5150 is a real rock'n'roll amp, but you couldn't do country chicken picking on it.  With the 5150-2 you can play any style of music including country.  It's super clean, probably I won't even use the clean channel.  I use the crunch channel for most of the clean stuff (laughing).  But anyway this new amp is a genuine three channel amp.  As regards the EQ, the presence and resonance are still there.

Tak: Can I try it out soon?

EVH: Aaaah, it's still being developed.  At the moment I need the prototypes for this tour.  I've been using them since April '98, they're really good amps.  But soon the whole world will get a chance to use them.

This is a really basic question but how do you prepare and how many hours a day do you practise?

EVH: I don't think I do practise anymore.  I don't know any scales.  I just know 12 notes, and I look for good sounding combinations everyday when I write songs.  I write for about 1 hour a day.  Before a show I just hang out aimlessly and relax.  I don't practise at all.  I'm not into practising. When I was child learning piano I had to practise all the time that's why.

And how about Mr. Matsumoto?

Tak: Rather than talking about how much I practise every day it depends on the situation. Definitely I do some warming up if it's before a live show.  Whether it's a performance or a recording, in reality playing live seems to be the best practise.

EVH: I think you're right.  Actually it's interesting, Most people don't know all the stuff that goes on behind the scenes making a record and doing a tour. They only see an hour and a half of enjoyment on stage, and that's their image of the glamorous rockstar. Before one musician called me up and said "I really admire you".  I asked what he meant, and I found he was trying to record guitar in a studio.  He was trying to get the position of the cabinets and the microphones right to capture the vibration to make the sound he wanted.  He really learned a lot! (laughing) Many people think if you just make a sound like "jyan" you can be like Eddie Van Halen or Tak, but it's not so simple.

Judging from my experience, I think you are right.  Looking back how do you feel about what has changed between when you were young and now?

EVH: If you say everyday is different, well it's nothing like that, but if you do the same thing every day, you'll be dead.  I don't have goals because if you have goals, when you reach them, it's the end. Whenever I go into the studio, I never feel I've experienced making records before, it's always very different from the last one.  In my mind I have very different ideas from the last one.  Composing music is like drawing a picture, first I make an image in my mind, then I try to put sound on the image, but the method is always different.  I prefer to do it that way, but I was never 100% satisfied.  If I was 100% satisfied I would quit music.  But I've seen that it's impossible to ever be satisfied with music, there's no perfection.  What is perfection?  I think God's the only thing that can be perfect.  Music is really personal, so there's no one music that everyone will like.  Maybe what is junk for one person is gold for another person.

What has changed personally for you from when you were an amateur Mr. Matsumoto?

Tak: In terms of changing, music has now become a job for me, so naturally I got a lot of experience playing live and feeling tension from playing, so I think that it has improved my technique, but I wonder...

EVH: Doing too much is the worst thing.  If you seclude yourself in the studio too much you won't get very good results I personally feel.  I have a home studio so I know this well!  It's pointless trying to seek perfection in the studio.  Music is attractive because of the nature of imperfection, so live performances are wonderful. You can sit in the corner and wait for someone to make a mistake! (laughing) But in a studio you can just punch in and overdub to your hearts content, and eventually there's no life anymore.

What do you think of the difference between playing guitar in a band and being a soloist?

EVH: Each band has a different kind of meaning I think, how about you Tak?

Tak: I think for example in my case, there are two people in my band, the singer has his role and I have my role, so it can be balanced.  I never have to leave my role, or change the present situation because it's already balanced very well.

EVH: I think that's exactly right.  Composing music is my job, but it used to be the music came first, and then lyrics were added.  But now Gary (Cherone) gives me lyrics without any music, and then I make a demo of a melody for them. I never experienced that before, it used to be impossible. Gary's lyrics are like a story, sometimes I watch movies with the sound down and try to think what would be the best music for that, and then make some sounds, and then I'd think "why is that?" (laughing)  I think the present Van Halen is wonderful, it's a real band, there aren't any egos, all the members respect each other for playing their part.  Gary is in charge of lyrics and I handle the melodies.  If Alex is playing better than me, so much the better.  The point is to remain open to each other.  Sometimes the melody comes out first, other times the lyrics come first.

Tak: Yeah I think it's good for bands to remain open to new things.  In my own case, basically the melody comes first and then the singer comes up with some lyrics.  We've been doing it that way for 10 years.  If we find another way to do it, we'll try it, but we've been doing it this way for so long.

EVH: Yeah you don't have to set any limits on yourself.

How do you get the ideas for music?  How do they come out?

EVH: I don't know... I really don't know where it comes from, I think it's very mysterious though.

Tak: I have never tried to find out.

EVH: Yeah I think I'm with you, I think music is something like stumbling around with a flashlight.  Even after beginning to compose something, it's really hard to find out where the ideas came from.  Maybe it's that if you call them too hard, they won't come. (laughing)  Strangely enough music comes during the times when I'm most open to ideas. It's sort of an interesting expression that I often say "Music is not a job, it's having fun" it's that the more you rack your brains, the harder it is to get ideas.