[Slowhand] eddie van halen quote in RS RE: Cream

[sam mangano]

Rolling Stone: How important were THE KINKS for you?

Eddie Van Halen: "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?"

Rolling Stone: Your biggest innovation was two-handed tapping — using 
both hands to fret notes simultaneously. Where did you get the idea?

Eddie Van Halen: "I was watching Jimmy Page going [sings hammering 
guitar lick], like that, with one hand, in 'Heartbreaker'. I thought, 'I 
can play like that, and you wouldn't know if I was using this finger 
[points to left hand] or this one' [points to right hand]. But you just 
kind of move it around, and it's like, 'You got one big hand there, 
buddy. That's a hell of a spread!'"