If you want to be a rock star or just be famous, then run down the street naked, you'll make the news or something. But if you want music to be your livelihood, then play, play, play and play! And eventually you'll get to where you want to be.
Interpretation
Success in music comes from dedication and hard work rather than seeking fame for its own sake.
Eddie Van Halen emphasizes that while shocking behaviors may garner quick fame, true success and fulfillment in music require persistence, dedication, and a genuine passion for the craft. The quote encourages musicians to focus on their art and practice continually to achieve their goals, rather than seeking fleeting attention.
In practice
This quote would be perfect to inspire young musicians at a workshop.
When I'm home on a break, I lock myself in my room and play guitar. After two or three hours, I start getting into this total meditation. It's a feeling few people experience, and that's usually when I come up with weird stuff. It just flows. I can't force myself. I don't sit down and say I've got to practice.
Music is for people. The word 'pop' is simply short for popular. It means that people like it. I'm just a normal jerk who happens to make music. As long as my brain and fingers work, I'm cool.
There's a plaque on our wall that says we've sold over 65 million albums, and I don't feel I've accomplished anything. I feel like I'm just getting started.
And if I would have taken lessons I probably wouldn't have done it, and what forced me to do all this weird stuff on the guitar was I couldn't afford effects pedals, I didn't have all this stuff when I was a kid so I just tried to squeeze all the weird noises I could out of the guitar, which brings me to building guitars.
Music kept me off the streets and out of trouble and gave me something that was mine that no one could take away from me.
It's always a Catch-22 situation. They hate you if you're the same, and they hate you if you're different.
We become what we think about all day long. The qustion is, "What do you think about?"
Always be looking for that which you do well and that which you love doing, and when you find those two things together — man, you got it.
If something's not impossible, there must be a way of doing it.
It's hard, when you're up to your armpits in alligators, to remember you came here to drain the swamp.
because the hardest boss a man can ever have is himself.
Failure is all a matter of perspective. Think of all the people you admire. I guarantee you they all failed at one time or another. The key is to recognize setbacks for what they really are-entry points for learning, not validation that you aren't good enough. After a disappointment analyze your actions, get feedback from friends, and take inventory of what you could do better next time. This type of self-reflection and improvement will ultimately make success inevitable.
Subscribe for the occasional hand-picked quote. No noise.