Nobody else is getting into Eddie Van Halen's already sold-out talk about his life, music and career at the Smithsonian National Museum of American History in Washington D.C. on Feb. 12 -- but that doesn't mean you have to miss it.

Van Halen's presentation -- part of a series titled What's It Mean to Be American, co-sponsored by Arizona State University's Zocalo Public Square -- will be broadcast a day later, on Feb. 13. Van Halen will focus on the idea of reinvention, both as a person and as a musician.

As part of this talk, Fender and Van Halen are donating a master-built replica of Eddie's famous late '70s-era cross-pollinated guitar, which imaginatively combined Gibson electronics with body and neck designs from Fender. Van Halen will be bringing along a finished EVH brand Wolfgang guitar, his current instrument of choice, to help illustrate the technological progressions that have taken place over the years. Fender and Van Halen are donating an amp and speaker cabinet, as well.

Entertainment journalist Denise Quan will moderate this event. Who knows? Maybe somewhere along the way Eddie will confirm those lingering rumors about a new Van Halen album.

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