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Some here know, my younger brother Jason is a professional guitarist and he's been with Alanis Morissette for 19 years now and played with a lot of other big name artists like Sarah McLachlan and Kelly Clarkson. I knew he was an Eddie Van Halen fan but I never knew HOW big a fan until I saw this tribute he posted on Facebook on Tuesday when Eddie passed away. It's long but I think it's really special and intimate so I'm sharing.
I was never good at sports when I was a kid. I just wasn’t. I was the kid who got picked last for the teams at recess during kickball or whatever. Then around 11 or 12 I started riding skateboards. I lived on a dead end street and at the end there was a cement wash that some skateboarders had turned into a little skate park. I was there everyday I think. It was free, and I could walk there in 30 seconds, so it was perfect for a 12 year old growing up in Simi Valley, CA. I got pretty good and felt like I finally had a sport for myself, even though it wasn’t considered a mainstream sport back then. It was all I cared about.
After a while, lots of local kids would come to skate there. I met
Todd Huber
and Jerry Fenske and they were great skaters in my eyes. AND, they were nice to me. It was during these sessions of skating with a boom box playing that Jerry said one day “this song is so great to skate to”. That song was Jamie’s Cryin’. We were all really into the first Van Halen record at the time and I still think about how good it felt to skate to that song every time I hear it now.
Then I turned 14 and got my first guitar. It became clear pretty quickly that guitar was going to take over the “all I care about” place that skateboarding had occupied.
I’m not sure how to explain how important Eddie was to me back then..? I collected every magazine he was in and poster he was on. One side of my completely rock n roll plastered bedroom was dedicated to ONLY pictures of Eddie, and you could not see any paint on that wall. It was all Eddie. I read every interview I could find. I remember really clearly taking his words seriously when he was asked “what do you think about all of these players copying your style?” and he basically said that he came up with his own thing and that other people should try and do the same. "Ok Eddie, got it. I’ll try and do my own thing”. I didn’t really get into tapping and I also didn’t really learn to play that many of his songs. Back then there wasn’t as much information about the artists we loved. There was mystery. No Youtube. I didn’t know what his speaking voice sounded like until a time I heard him speaking on the radio. I DID try to grow my hair like his… he never said “don’t try to look like me” after all. I got close but it was impossible to look as cool as he did. Perfect rock n roll hair, dressed cool, etc. I worshipped him, not afraid to admit it.
I remember hanging out in the summers with my friend Steve who had moved to Fountain Valley. One trip down there he said “have you heard about MTV?” which I of course had not. We turned it on and there weren’t many videos yet, they sort of played lots of random things at the time. But… they did play live videos of So This Is Love and Unchained. I had never been to a concert at that point so this was the only time I had seen Van Halen moving around and performing. I couldn’t believe my eyes. Steve wanted to go to the beach but I only wanted to sit there through every video until they played those VH vids again. I finally got to see them live at the US Festival in ’83 but sadly by the time they came on, we were all exhausted from a long day of heat and loud music so we left half way through the show.
I kept playing, listening to lots of other music but ALWAYS had my VH records nearby. Later in my early 20s after Sammy Hagar was in the band, I had a roomate who got the gig as Eddie’s guitar tech. Soon after that I found myself up at Eddie’s house and inside 5150. I got to go into the guitar room and hold every guitar that I had worshipped my whole guitar playing life up until that point. I remember after meeting him the first time that I couldn’t decide which was more surreal, meeting him or holding those iconic guitars. The Bumble Bee strat, the Frankenstein, which my friend was calling the Striped Quarter because of the quarter screwed into it near the bridge. That one was put away at the time because Eddie was in the Kramer phase and had lots of bodies and necks painted red, black and white, but my friend took it out for a quick look. I remember it was surprisingly heavy and still had bicycle reflectors glued to the back that I had read about. It’s crazy to think now that I actually held those guitars in my hands. I’m not sure I even played anything on them? I just stood there, holding them in disbelief.
On another day, my roomate asked if I’d like to go up to 5150 and check out the new amps of the same name that he had started making with Peavey. Eddie was also playing the first Music Man guitars that they were building for him. When we pulled up, in the driveway was Ed and Steve Lukather hanging out. My roomate said “wanted to show Jason the new amp!” and Ed smiled and said “cool!”. Again, surreal…
We went inside and there was his whole rig set up. The guitar sitting on the stand was the amber colored Music Man he favored at the time. I played that guitar, through that rig, at a very high volume. It sounded amazing but also… I was playing through his rig. What in the HELL WAS HAPPENING..?!?! Surreal once again. Then… I looked up and Steve Lukather had poked his head through the door. He said “sounds good!”. I was speechless. I’m not really sure I managed any words, probably a big dumb smile. The guy who played “Rosanna”, played on countless other tracks, just said that… to me. Then Eddie’s head popped up behind him and he said “whaddya think..???”. Uh… WHAT. DO. I. THINK…?!?!! ME?! From the guy who played “I’m The One”, “On Fire”, “Mean Streets”, “Unchained”, “Little Guitars”, "Ice Cream Man"… the list goes on. I’m sure at that point I managed something like “it sounds incredible!!” and they both smiled and left. But then I turned to my friend absolutely dumbfounded because I couldn’t really compute that these two giants were hearing ANYTHING I was playing in that room. It was just all too much.
There were other moments that I was lucky enough to experience around him. He was always so kind and friendly and it was surreal again that he even knew my name for that brief period. There was a time back then that my roomate and I were trying to put a band together. We needed a drummer and one day at 5150 we were sitting having lunch and Eddie walked up. We mentioned how hard it was to find a good drummer. I remember he said “oh yeah… I guess I’ve just always had Al so…”. Again, surreal. “Al”. Alex Van Halen you mean… the drummer in Van Halen. But there he was, just chatting with us like another musician in town trying to play and get music out there. But in my eyes, while he was so kindly just hanging out and chatting with us, he was also still floating on this god-like cloud.
He was my Hendrix. He was my Clapton. He was my Page. I mean to say that during my lifetime, he was the one who changed EVERYTHING forever for guitar and for guitar players. I love those other players just as much but I found them through my older brother. Eddie was mine.
I knew he was sick. I knew this day would probably come this year. It’s still heartbreaking and hard to process. I'll listen to his music today and it will still make me feel exactly the same as it always has… like a 16 year old, trying to grow his hair to look as cool as his hero, and trying to understand how anyone could play guitar like this giant of soul, feel and creation did. RIP Edward Van Halen. You meant the world to me, thank you.
Now, that's a cool story and a great tribute! So nice to hear that Ed wasn't an a$$hole - but I'd been assured of that from others who had met him.
Posted : October 8, 2020 12:15 pm
What a thrill for him to meet his idol and what a great story. Thanks for sharing, Rob.
RIP Eddie Van Halen.
Posted : October 8, 2020 5:19 pm
Ed's long time guitar tech was Matt Bruck. Was that your brothers roommate?
Everyone has a plan, till you get punched in the face,
Posted : October 8, 2020 8:00 pm
Cool story - thanks! And RIP Eddie...
Posted : October 8, 2020 10:13 pm
Topic starter
@jszfunk: Here's your answer, from Jason: "Yeah it was Matt. He still was working for Eddie all these years but didn't go on the road as much."
Posted : October 9, 2020 12:07 am
That is a great story. To have taken an interest in guitar and then getting to hang out at your idol's home and play on his rig. Please pinch me! Cool to the nth degree!
Posted : October 9, 2020 1:49 am
I worked their show in '84. Had to remove brown m&m's from a big bowl of them. Their stage was enormous, like building a metal house. Before the sound check at 5, EVH was on stage, sitting on an amp, playing his guitar, unplugged and I walked over, slowly and with some apprehension and he smiled, knowing I was coming to say hi and I said, "Eddie man, you sure can play that thing. Thanks for all the music". He said, "Man, if I couldn't, I wouldn't be sitting here" and we both laughed. As I'm walking away he said, "you're welcome". I'll never forget it. Cool dude, nice guy.
Posted : October 9, 2020 7:21 am
Very cool story...I love hearing such things from people who have met their hero’s and find out they’re just down to earth nice folks despite their fame.
Posted : October 9, 2020 12:52 pm
