Alex Van Halen

There was a lot of political turmoil in Indonesia. And to put it simply, they wanted to be free of the colonial power structure. And they saw my dad as part of that because he was Caucasian.

There was a lot of political turmoil in Indonesia. And to put it simply, they wanted to be free of the colonial power structure. And they saw my dad as part of that because he was Caucasian.

our parents were already married, so the best thing that they could do, they thought, rather than live in the middle of some place for the conflict where you really are, the Caucasian people really were a minority at that time in Indonesia, even though they were the ruling class. They moved to Holland. It was my dad's home country, and there the shoe was on the other foot.

our parents were already married, so the best thing that they could do, they thought, rather than live in the middle of some place for the conflict where you really are, the Caucasian people really were a minority at that time in Indonesia, even though they were the ruling class. They moved to Holland. It was my dad's home country, and there the shoe was on the other foot.

our parents were already married, so the best thing that they could do, they thought, rather than live in the middle of some place for the conflict where you really are, the Caucasian people really were a minority at that time in Indonesia, even though they were the ruling class. They moved to Holland. It was my dad's home country, and there the shoe was on the other foot.

Now my mom is the minority, and she's easily identifiable, you know, I'm laughing because it's absurd what people do on this planet, but that's another story. So they moved to Holland, and she really got the brunt of racism all the time. Even as children, we saw it happen. But you can look back on it depending on how you navigate it. It could be a positive, it could be a negative.

Now my mom is the minority, and she's easily identifiable, you know, I'm laughing because it's absurd what people do on this planet, but that's another story. So they moved to Holland, and she really got the brunt of racism all the time. Even as children, we saw it happen. But you can look back on it depending on how you navigate it. It could be a positive, it could be a negative.

Now my mom is the minority, and she's easily identifiable, you know, I'm laughing because it's absurd what people do on this planet, but that's another story. So they moved to Holland, and she really got the brunt of racism all the time. Even as children, we saw it happen. But you can look back on it depending on how you navigate it. It could be a positive, it could be a negative.

It never really affected me as much as it did Ed. It can either make you tougher or it can make you hate people or angry. I never had any of that. As a musician, you welcome everybody. Why would you cut your audience? Let everybody come in. Let's go play.

It never really affected me as much as it did Ed. It can either make you tougher or it can make you hate people or angry. I never had any of that. As a musician, you welcome everybody. Why would you cut your audience? Let everybody come in. Let's go play.

It never really affected me as much as it did Ed. It can either make you tougher or it can make you hate people or angry. I never had any of that. As a musician, you welcome everybody. Why would you cut your audience? Let everybody come in. Let's go play.

At that time... My mother had a sister who lived in a city called Pasadena, and she kept sending letters and all these different communications of how wonderful it was and the weather is great. It's just like Indonesia. Oranges are a penny apiece, which is, you know, in Holland, you don't really get oranges. You get them once in a while, and they...

At that time... My mother had a sister who lived in a city called Pasadena, and she kept sending letters and all these different communications of how wonderful it was and the weather is great. It's just like Indonesia. Oranges are a penny apiece, which is, you know, in Holland, you don't really get oranges. You get them once in a while, and they...

At that time... My mother had a sister who lived in a city called Pasadena, and she kept sending letters and all these different communications of how wonderful it was and the weather is great. It's just like Indonesia. Oranges are a penny apiece, which is, you know, in Holland, you don't really get oranges. You get them once in a while, and they...

They ship them from Spain and they come elaborately wrapped. It's a big ordeal. But that aside, so oranges for a penny a piece was very attractive for my mom and us two as well.

They ship them from Spain and they come elaborately wrapped. It's a big ordeal. But that aside, so oranges for a penny a piece was very attractive for my mom and us two as well.

They ship them from Spain and they come elaborately wrapped. It's a big ordeal. But that aside, so oranges for a penny a piece was very attractive for my mom and us two as well.

The way my mom explained it was he showed up on his motorcycle and he didn't have any underwear on. That's a love story. Yeah. You know, those kind of stories. A little humor, I think. Because, you know, living in those times, things were not secure. The Second World War had just ended, and now everything's headed for another conflict and another disagreement.

The way my mom explained it was he showed up on his motorcycle and he didn't have any underwear on. That's a love story. Yeah. You know, those kind of stories. A little humor, I think. Because, you know, living in those times, things were not secure. The Second World War had just ended, and now everything's headed for another conflict and another disagreement.

The way my mom explained it was he showed up on his motorcycle and he didn't have any underwear on. That's a love story. Yeah. You know, those kind of stories. A little humor, I think. Because, you know, living in those times, things were not secure. The Second World War had just ended, and now everything's headed for another conflict and another disagreement.