David Lee Roth is the first to admit the only thing that rivals Van Halen’s talent is the group’s arrogance. And he’s OK with that.

The singer says the band’s holier-than-thou attitude came from years of working with “unfriendly” mentors who taught the group’s members their art.

“We were the result of really unsmiling, unfriendly European music teachers, and when we brought it together we brought craft,” Roth says.

“Thousands and thousands of hours of just working together as a team, and working together as individuals. And that’s where our spirit and our drive, and maybe some of our arrogance, came from.”

Roth is currently preparing for a nine-show residency at the House of Blues in Las Vegas. It gets underway in January.

Does Van Halen seem cocky to you? Which rock star seems like he or she would be the biggest jerk in real life?

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