![\"VAN](\"http:\/\/i25.photobucket.com\/albums\/c84\/rocketfromvenice\/vanhalen.jpg\" "\\"VAN")
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![\"TMD](\"http:\/\/i66.photobucket.com\/albums\/h259\/rsid999\/tmdcom.jpg\" "\\"TMD")
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A few excerpts follow:<\/p>\n
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How did you start playing guitar?<\/strong><\/p>\n My brother and I were forced to take piano lessons, and it wasn't fun for me. I heard music in my head, but I wasn't allowed to play it. Then I bought myself a drum kit, and somehow my mom convinced my brother Alex to take flamenco-guitar lessons. I had a paper route to pay for the drum kit, and while I was out throwing papers, Alex got better than me on the drums, so I said, "OK, fuck you. I'll play your guitar."<\/p>\n What were the first songs you learned to play?<\/strong><\/p>\n The Ventures: "Pipeline," "Wipe Out," that kind of stuff. My brother and I loved Dave Clark Five, but they weren't really a guitar-oriented band. The first time I turned an amp all the way to 10 and it distorted, I went, "Yeeeah! This is fun."<\/p>\n You ended up covering another Sixties classic, the Kinks' "You Really Got Me," on your first album.<\/strong><\/p>\n At our shows, we used to do that and "All Day and All of the Night" and, you know, just a bunch of old, semi-obscure rock tunes. I always liked taking old songs and turning a prop plane into a jet plane. To me, that's what "You Really Got Me" sounds like. Ours is like whooosh [laughs].<\/p>\n How important were the Kinks for you?<\/strong><\/p>\n I just like songs. I don't mean to sound like a prick or nothin', but I've never really been that much of a fan of bands outside of Cream. And I don't really listen to anything nowadays. The last record I might've bought was Peter Gabriel's So. With Cream, I was more a fan of their interaction live. You know, they were an example of "What's the difference between jazz and rock & roll? We just play louder." That's all. We get 12 notes. Do what the fuck you want with 'em, you know?<\/p>\n Read the full interview HERE. <\/a><\/p>\n <\/p>\n