Edward Van Halen

**Zephyr690** · 10-10-2020, 07:08 AM

Originally Posted by MarkRhodes

Yes, I think he played drums before brother Alex did. They both played piano. According to legend, Alex was playing guitar first, but when he mastered the drum part for "Wipe Out", Eddie switched to guitar and Alex stuck with the drums.

Their first band The Broken Combs with Eddie on piano and Alex on sax in about 1964

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**MarkRhodes** · 10-10-2020, 09:52 AM

Originally Posted by christianm77

Shaun Baxter's interview with EVH that I referenced elsewhere can be found here

Shaun Baxter | Facebook

"I'm tellin' ya, man, it's all a coupla beers and wingin' it." Wings of angels, maybe.

**Cunamara** · 10-10-2020, 01:56 PM

Originally Posted by Zephyr690

Their first band The Broken Combs with Eddie on piano and Alex on sax in about 1964

OK, that is actually just adorable.

**P.J.** · 10-11-2020, 07:50 AM

Originally Posted by jaco

Not the band. The player, Spanish Fly is an interesting take. He's an amazing guitar player whatever you think of the band.

The band has not aged well for me. Cringey, sexist lyrics are hard to listen to these days. I remember how psyched I was to hear the first album. I loved how You Really Got Me segued into Eruption. Because of Eddie I was actually a better tapper than a picker when I first started playing because I would tap all the time and not put enough effort into getting my picking together. He was inspiring, to say the least.

**Doctor Jeff** · 10-11-2020, 08:51 AM

Originally Posted by starjasmine

Cool tribute from Vai:

Steve Vai Pays Tribute to Eddie Van Halen, Recalls Their Friendship - Rolling Stone

Nice read. Frank and Eddie and Steve jamming together? Where is the tape of that???

(Though TBH when great rock players jam together, it’s rarely revelatory, cause they each have their own thing, and without the structure of a complex well-thought-out song it usually devolves into wankery. Clapton’s first acoustic jams with Duane might be an exception, mainly cause they were playing the blues and Clapton can sing. Clapton’s jams with George Harrison are boring to me. Maybe there are some other impromptu rock jams that I don’t know about but should listen to.)

It’s hard to know where Frank was coming from, given his history of extreme sardonic humor. Dr. Sardonicus...

But one guesses that he secretly admires at least some of the people he skewers/makes fun of...Bob Dylan...Eddie...David Bowie..Peter Frampton...

I doubt he liked Jerry Falwell or Jesse Jackson much though.

Anyway, I digress. In retrospect it’s a little strange that EVH was so influential for about a decade, then became *almost* invisible. Maybe that’s an appropriate reaction to great success and fame. Lot’s of other people have done it. Some like Elvis go the other route...is it better to burn out or to fade away? Still trying to figure that one out.

**Doctor Jeff** · 10-11-2020, 09:11 AM

BTW, speaking of FZ and Eddie, I am now recalling that Zappa did a bit of tapping...the solo in Inca Roads comes to mind...I think there were also some songs on Shut Up and Play Your Guitar that featured tapping.

Frank did admit that Eddie took the technique to a different level. That’s why Frank hired Vai, cause he wanted someone who could “play the stuff that I can’t play.”

Frank and Eddie were a lot alike it seems to me. Frank was an inveterate tinkerer with his guitars. Read about his Gibson LP sometime. “A Stratocaster with a whammy bar”...I mean Joe’s Garage is more the story of EVH than Frank in terms of record contracts and commercial success...

**Hep To The Jive** · 10-11-2020, 09:40 AM

Originally Posted by Doctor Jeff

Nice read. Frank and Eddie and Steve jamming together? Where is the tape of that???

(Though TBH when great rock players jam together, it’s rarely revelatory, cause they each have their own thing, and without the structure of a complex well-thought-out song it usually devolves into wankery. Clapton’s first acoustic jams with Duane might be an exception, mainly cause they were playing the blues and Clapton can sing. Clapton’s jams with George Harrison are boring to me. Maybe there are some other impromptu rock jams that I don’t know about but should listen to.)

It’s hard to know where Frank was coming from, given his history of extreme sardonic humor. Dr. Sardonicus...

But one guesses that he secretly admires at least some of the people he skewers/makes fun of...Bob Dylan...Eddie...David Bowie..Peter Frampton...

I doubt he liked Jerry Falwell or Jesse Jackson much though.

Anyway, I digress. In retrospect it’s a little strange that EVH was so influential for about a decade, then became *almost* invisible. Maybe that’s an appropriate reaction to great success and fame. Lot’s of other people have done it. Some like Elvis go the other route...is it better to burn out or to fade away? Still trying to figure that one out.

I mean, from the first album(1978) till at least about 1995 he was very much visible. You might not like Sammy Hagar era, but I and many people love it. So a bit more than a decade then?

Also, for me VH is the first American real ROCK band. Everything else before wasn't real rock, only British bands were rocking at that time. So basically their influence never stopped since then. That's how I look at it anyway.

**Hep To The Jive** · 10-11-2020, 09:45 AM

Originally Posted by Dave70

I haven't listened to whole VH albums in years ,here's one tune I totally forgot about:

VH did some fusion!

Super! It just hit me what makes EVH really stand out... His syncopation! Nobody in rock wrote more syncopated riffs than Eddie. And it feels very organic too, it just the way he felt rhythm. That's why it always swings. And not just riffs, his leads too, the phrasing is insane. Nothing is ever straightforward.

**Doctor Jeff** · 10-11-2020, 09:47 AM

Originally Posted by Hep To The Jive

I mean, from the first album(1978) till at least about 1995 he was very much visible. You might not like Sammy Hagar era, but I and many people love it. So a bit more than a decade then?

Also, for me VH is the first American real ROCK band. Everything else before wasn't real rock, only British bands were rocking at that time. So basically their influence never stopped since then. That's how I look at it anyway.

OK...when you get old, time gets compressed, so 10 years give or take 7...

I think their last big hit was Right Now, though, in ‘91. More time in the spotlight than the Beatles, but less than The Rolling Stones...

**Hep To The Jive** · 10-11-2020, 10:25 AM

Originally Posted by Doctor Jeff

OK...when you get old, time gets compressed, so 10 years give or take 7...

I think their last big hit was Right Now, though, in ‘91. More time in the spotlight than the Beatles, but less than The Rolling Stones...

Album 'Balance'(1995) reached n1 on Billboard, and by 2004 became triple platinum. I had it, it's one of my favorites, highly recommended!

**MarkRhodes** · 10-11-2020, 01:55 PM

Originally Posted by Doctor Jeff

OK...when you get old, time gets compressed, so 10 years give or take 7...

I think their last big hit was Right Now, though, in ‘91. More time in the spotlight than the Beatles, but less than The Rolling Stones...

Well, the Stones' last hit was in '89 ("Rock and A Hard Place") yet they remain visible. Being a good live act seems to matter more in the long run: Allman Bros, Grateful Dead, the Stones, AC/DC...

One can be in the spotlight without having a steady stream of hit singles.

And Eddie had a spotlight of his own as a guitar player and designer of gear (guitars, amp heads, combos, and cabinets).

It will be interesting to see how much of his music comes out posthumously. He had his own studio and recorded a lot. No telling what all there is.

**Cunamara** · 10-11-2020, 02:19 PM

Originally Posted by Hep To The Jive

Super! It just hit me what makes EVH really stand out... His syncopation! Nobody in rock wrote more syncopated riffs than Eddie. And it feels very organic too, it just the way he felt rhythm. That's why it always swings. And not just riffs, his leads too, the phrasing is insane. Nothing is ever straightforward.

Combined with a great rock rhythm section. The combination of Eddie, Alex and Michael was really quite outstanding. They did a great job of filling in space without getting on each other's toes. I will admit that I didn't like Wolfgang's bass playing as much. Eddie and Alex in particular seemed very locked in; if Eddie wandered a bit out of time, Alex caught it and brought it back.

**44lombard** · 10-11-2020, 03:33 PM

Originally Posted by Doctor Jeff

In retrospect it’s a little strange that EVH was so influential for about a decade, then became *almost* invisible. Maybe that’s an appropriate reaction to great success and fame. Lot’s of other people have done it. Some like Elvis go the other route...is it better to burn out or to fade away? Still trying to figure that one out.

Eddie had some serious struggles that were catching up to him around that mid-1990s period where he became "almost invisible". Tom Petty coincidentally was going through a very dark time during those same years. Their early career arcs tracked pretty closely actually. Neither ended up living in an RV like Sly Stone, but neither were "fading away" in a healthy way to deal with their fame. I'm not judging either--I can't imagine any situation more personality-warping than being a brilliant rock star in that era. Its just amazing their weren't more early "27-club" deaths than there were.

**lammie200** · 10-11-2020, 10:23 PM

Ted Templeman said that lots of VH were one takes. Hard to doubt that considering:

Interesting comparison with Townsend and “Who Are You.” His guitar isn’t the song the same way that EVH’s was in these examples IMHO.

**Doctor Jeff** · 10-11-2020, 11:22 PM

Edward Van Halen-6e4f0b7c-b5b3-4a5e-8d06-18857b582175-jpg

**Thumpalumpacus** · 10-12-2020, 12:13 AM

There's before Eddie, and after Eddie, in rock guitar. I'm not a big fan of his, but his impact was huge, whether you liked him or not.

What I dug was his melodicism, when he wasn't going warp-speed, and the vocal harmonies the band could put together.

My favorite song from him doesn't have a guitar solo at all, unless you count the sorta cheesy intro:

He had a bluesy sort of shred that was friendly to the ear, and could write a good tune too.

The comments above about his groove are spot-on, too. He had a great sense of pocket and knew how to lay into it.

**Thumpalumpacus** · 10-12-2020, 12:36 AM

Originally Posted by MarkRhodes

Vai had a lot going on. His performance in the movie "Crossroads" brought him a lot of well-deserved attention.

For all his fretboard wizardry, EVH didn't make instrumental albums. He formed a band with an appealing front man and rocked out. It was a smart move, and perhaps more fun for him too. He could dazzle when he chose but could also do something as simple and fun as "Ain't Talkin' 'Bout Love."

The brotha knew how to throw down a tune. Another simple favorite from that band for me is "Dance the Night Away". The cha-cha beat about steals the show until the vocal harmonies kick in, and nowhere is EVH crapping all over it with wanking, he just plays for the song.

**Doctor Jeff** · 10-12-2020, 09:45 AM

BTW, not to derail the thread, but listened to Zappa’s 1981 Halloween concert last night—just available on Apple, not sure if it has been out on disk before, but excellent production, excellent performance...probably THE best example of early 80’s live Zappa I have ever heard. I saw them live about this time...probably with Steve Vai, though TBH I don’t remember if he was with them or not. Also some absolutely smoking Zappa solos.

Anyway...

There was a great deal of tapping going on by Steve Vai, especially on Stevie’s Spanking, also their ersatz version of Whipping Post, which is much better than the one on their official release. I think I heard a few quotes from EVH there, if I wasn’t mishearing.

**MarkRhodes** · 10-12-2020, 10:28 AM

Originally Posted by Thumpalumpacus

Another simple favorite from that band for me is "Dance the Night Away". The cha-cha beat about steals the show until the vocal harmonies kick in, and nowhere is EVH crapping all over it with wanking, he just plays for the song.

Cowbell!
"Dance the Night Away" is one of my favorite Van Halen songs. Great rhythm part from Eddie.

**lammie200** · 10-12-2020, 10:29 PM

Any Aztec Camera/Roddy Frame fans out there? I used to have the EP with this B-side back in the day. Came out 6 months after the VH original. I thought that it was pretty cool that they covered it. A bit different, eh?

**MarkRhodes** · 10-12-2020, 10:41 PM

Originally Posted by lammie200

Any Aztec Camera/Roddy Frame fans out there? I used to have the EP with this B-side back in the day. Came out 6 months after the VH original. I thought that it was pretty cool that they covered it. A bit different, eh?

Aztec Camera---there's a name I haven't heard in a long time. Never heard this track before. Thanks.

**Thumpalumpacus** · 10-13-2020, 12:32 AM

Originally Posted by MarkRhodes

Cowbell!
"Dance the Night Away" is one of my favorite Van Halen songs. Great rhythm part from Eddie.

I always dug how he handled the interlude -- obviously-cranked amp, but a very soft touch to emphasize harmonics.

**ksaric** · 10-13-2020, 03:45 AM

Originally Posted by lammie200

Any Aztec Camera/Roddy Frame fans out there? I used to have the EP with this B-side back in the day. Came out 6 months after the VH original. I thought that it was pretty cool that they covered it. A bit different, eh?

That album was produced by Mark Knopfler but this song was produced by the band itself

**greveost** · 10-13-2020, 06:22 AM

Originally Posted by fep

Van Halen grew up in my neck of the woods. I was about 3 years younger... the band played at my high school in November of 1975. During my high school years they played at highschool parties in the town I grew up in.

One thing they had that is similar to the jazz culture, they played all the time and everywhere they could. I don't remember any band playing as often as they did during my high school days. They built a following before they released their first album.

And even back then Eddie already had that Eddie style/identity as a guitar player (and that certainly was before any Holdsworth influence). Legato... yeah I suppose, bit he picked an awful lot of his stuff and we were pretty much amazed by his technique including his picking.

Not great recording quality, it was a high school in the 70s...

I remember reading, MANY years ago, that they used to play in their backyard, meanwhile they also used to have these huge BBQ-parties, where the whole neighborhood was invited.

Did you ever see that, visited the parties, if so how was it? Was it even true?

**lammie200** · 10-13-2020, 11:05 AM

Originally Posted by greveost

I remember reading, MANY years ago, that they used to play in their backyard, meanwhile they also used to have these huge BBQ-parties, where the whole neighborhood was invited.

Did you ever see that, visited the parties, if so how was it? Was it even true?

There are a few videos posted on youtube: