You Won't Sound Like Eddie

The magic is in the artist, not the gear

Like just about every guitar player my age, I grew up worshiping at the altar of Eddie Van Halen [1].  When Eddie first arrived on the scene, none of us had ever heard anything like it.  Rumors flew that Eddie has some sort of little magic "black box" of effects that made his guitar have that amazing signature Van Halen sound.

At one point, Van Halen went on tour opening for Ted Nugent.  Apparently, Ted also thought Eddie had a little black box and wanted to play through Eddie's gear, so he could sound, well, “like Eddie.”  Here's how Eddie remembers the encounter, in his own words:

"Ted was cool enough to give the band a sound check," he said. "He's standing off to the side and he's listening to me, and he comes up and says, 'Hey, you little shit! Where's your little magic black box?' I'm going, Who the fuck is that? And it was Ted. Hey Ted, it's nice to meet you, thanks for the sound check. And he's going, 'Let me play your guitar!' I go, 'Okay, here you go.' He starts playing my guitar and it sounds like Ted. "He yells, 'You just removed your little black box, didn't you? Where is it? What did you do?' I go, 'I didn't do anything!' So I play, and it sounds like me. He says, 'Here, play my guitar!' I play his big old guitar and it sounds just like me. He's going, 'You little shit!' What I'm trying to say is I am the best at doing me. Nobody else can do me better than me."

The lesson for all of us, buried in Eddie's colorful language is his last sentence: "What I'm trying to say is I am the best at doing me.  Nobody else can do me better than me"

I first heard this story as a young man learning to play guitar.  And I've always remembered his last point as "the magic is in the artist, not the gear."  [2]

I think about this story every time I see amateur artists go up to professionals and ask questions ad nauseam about the brand of paint, the brand of brushes, what type of varnish to use, how the canvas is prepared...whatever.

It doesn't matter - the magic is in the artist, not the gear.

Sarkar @0xSarkar

You can't succeed by following the footsteps of successful people. Because the very reason the man sitting at the top reached there is because he carved out his own path. And by copying his path, you are doing exactly the opposite of what made him successful in the first place.

You can't write, paint, play or dance like that artist you look up to.  It won't matter if you buy all the same supplies, read all the same books and travel to all the same places.  It won’t even matter if a master takes you under his wing and tries to teach you what he does. Because the artists who are the greatest at what they do, don’t even know exactly what they do. They couldn’t articulate it into exact steps if they tried. Well, they could try, and they could even write a book or show you step by step what they do, but, in the end, the most important things they “know” can’t be articulated.

And, while in some ways, it can be frustrating [3], here's what you can draw inspiration from:  you are an artist as well, there is also magic is inside of you, not your gear.  Nobody can "do" you, better than you.  And that's an amazing gift.  Like Thomas J. Bevan says, “Good artists copy, great artist steal- but there’s a world of difference between being a master jewel thief and a petty burglar.” So, take inspiration from your "idols" and then embrace your own magic and share it with us.

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FOOTNOTES: 

[1] I wrote an earlier version many years ago and it has been updated and expanded in this version. Since I first approached this topic, EVH has passed away. The rock world lost one of the greats in 2020. EVH - RIP. I never met Eddie but one thing I know for sure - he would want you to share your music, your art, and your magic with the world.

[2]  I think there have been different versions of this story.  In my mind, I remember a version where Eddie's roadie tells Ted that "You won't sound like Eddie, the magic is in the artist, not the gear".  I don't know if my mind twisted it into that statement, or if I heard a version where someone actually said it.  It doesn't matter, it's true.  The magic IS in the artist and NOT in the gear.

[3] While I've grown up and no longer try to play like Eddie, my biggest current influence is Texas acoustic player, Monte Montgomery.  And yes, sometimes it's frustrating to always fall short of his talented, smooth sound.  On the other hand, while he may have better "chops" than me, he'll never sound like me either.  The magic runs both ways, and Eddie couldn't sound like Ted Nugent either.  Embrace YOUR magic.