VAN HALEN - VAN HALEN: 'SOBRIETY MAKES IT TOUGHER TO MASTER THE GUITAR'

VAN HALEN: 'SOBRIETY MAKES IT TOUGHER TO MASTER THE GUITAR'

VAN HALEN star EDDIE VAN HALEN has confessed he has to work hard to maintain his guitar-great reputation - because sobriety has robbed him of his skills.
Van Halen tells Spinner.com he's "re-learning" how to play the guitar because he isn't as "loose" as he was when he was boozed up.
The rocker, who completed a spell in rehab in 2007, explains, "It takes me a good hour to loosen up my fingers... after two and a half, three hours, you kind of get into a zone that I'm kind of relearning because I'm not drinking anymore. When I used to drink, it would get me there quicker. It's kind of the zone where you're not thinking.
"God's not gonna give you nothing if you don't practice or play. So, after a couple, three hours, God says, 'OK, he's ready. I'll throw him a bone.' And God's got a sense of humour, too - sometimes he gives me s**t, 'cause not everything I do I like."