Got sucked in to a Van Halen YouTube hole yesterday. Didn't realize he's kind of a dick b/c he always smiles on stage.
Eddie Van Halen is kind of an a$&hole
- Thread starter General Tso
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Both Eddie and Alex are famous for being moody and sometimes cruel. I don’t really care. I was never in the band. EVH was such a groundbreaker as a player...that ****ing tone. I can only think of him that way.
When I was younger I thought EVH was awesome. Now that I’m older I still appreciate his playing but he wouldn’t be in my top 10 favorite guitarists. His style kind of bores me now.
Rocky...Eddie and I were having cocktails Monday night and I just wanna give you a “heads up”....Eddie told me he finds you (posting) style boring.
But dammit...I stuck up for ya...
Well, he hasn’t done anything new that was great in more than 20 years. By his standard anyway. He was the most famous player in the world for many years though. And one of the most innovative ever. Very few players can claim that.
From what I always read and heard in interviews Eddie was the A Hole...Alex was just along for the ride but by staying firm with Eddy they could control what happened.
EVH could play but I have to agree with Rocky.....he quickly sounded like "same crap...different song".
Coke is a hell of a drug. No way they are worse than David Lee Roth douche bag.
Valerie said he was a-hole. david lee roth and Sammy said it. the bass player said it. but they all bagged on david lee roth too. so I dunno. everyone was all sorts of moanin' and beotchin' . just shut the heck up and play your songs and drive your dang hot rod cars!! the bass player and Sammy came out of it all ok and seem to remain friends.
Maybe they are, but I saw them in concert back in 2012. DLR would not even sing, skit skat bee bopped through the whole fuggin show. The Van Halens were nails. If you don't want to sing, fugg off. He couldn't carry Sammy's jock.
And after Valerie got off coke, I am guessing her opinion changed a bit.
I never gave 2 squirts for Van Halen. Van Hagar is a totally different story.
Glad that Sammy and Mike can work together. Toss in Bonham (Led Zepplins drummers son) and Vic Johnson playing guitar and "The Circle" has some serious talent.
I went to that show. he took off his socks and put sawdust down and scooted around on the floor like he was ice skating. it was strange. I think he fried his brain
It may be ironic but I like his rhythm playing and fills much more than his attempts at soloing. For the most part I think his solos make no sense, that they don't fit in with the song they are in.
I remember an interview with Clapton where the writer mentioned that Van Halen considered him a huge influence. Clapton said the appreciated that but really could not see any of his style in what Eddie does. Clapton solos have a beginning, middle and end and I am pretty sure that is what he was referring to.
I remember an interview with Clapton where the writer mentioned that Van Halen considered him a huge influence. Clapton said the appreciated that but really could not see any of his style in what Eddie does. Clapton solos have a beginning, middle and end and I am pretty sure that is what he was referring to.
people like to compare yngwie and Clapton and eddie and hendrix. all different styles apples and bananas
I always though Eddie's chief talent was considering he was the only guitarist in the band, he was both lead and rhythm guitarist - therefore his rhythm play was what drove most songs.
The solos because of the extensive use of hammer-ons and pull-offs while mixing in the Floyd Rose were unique in that nobody ever used them as much as he did...but the fat chunky rhythm sound is what I thought made his soloing style work.
A song such as "Light Up The Sky" is a perfect example of this. Mainly a rhythm guitar song, like a lot of their best work. It's an overdubbed song too, which they tried their hardest not to have to do.
The rhythm kicking in at the 2:50 mark near the end is the rhythm in the background of the solo you hear on "Van Halen II"...the solo is the overdubbed part.
Here's a Japanese kid playing it, caught up close to see it in all it's splendor...pretty much played how you'd hear it live - a little "thin" versus the album track. But it's the rhythm playing that drives the entire song.
NOBODY played like this back then.
Joe Walsh used to say it's the "lead rhythm players" that are the best players. They're two guitarists in one person, and very few can pull that off.
There's no 2nd guitarist. There's no keyboards or horns. As Dave used to say, "no monkey under the stage filling stuff in". It was all Eddie.
As for what killed the band - and why the band went through 3 different singers and why they needed to bring in Eddie's son to play bass as they aged - all you need to know is who the constants were. And those were Eddie and Alex.
They brought in Gary Cherone for one reason only - to flip a very obvious middle finger to Dave and Sammy. And correct me if I am wrong, but I don't ever hear or have read about Dave and Sammy going to rehab multiple times like Eddie (pretty sure Alex has gone a time or two himself also)...so who are you gonna believe, the raging drunkard's story, or the ones who could handle their booze?
Eddie and Alex used to comment about "lead singer disease" when talking about Dave and Sammy. My personal opinion is booze ruined the band. Twice.
The last time I saw VH (the...27th time I saw them with Dave), Dave hit every and I mean every note perfect. Eddie was all over the place, worst "Eruption" solo I'd ever heard him perform. Hell, 2/3 the way through it, it almost felt like he got lost where he was with it.
A couple days later I met a gal who worked the arena that night for the show, part of the backstage catering. She said Eddie downed so much wine backstage before the show she was stunned he could stand up let alone play the show.
After what I saw...I'd believe it. I've had several opportunities since roughly 2008 to see them again...passed on every opportunity.
The solos because of the extensive use of hammer-ons and pull-offs while mixing in the Floyd Rose were unique in that nobody ever used them as much as he did...but the fat chunky rhythm sound is what I thought made his soloing style work.
A song such as "Light Up The Sky" is a perfect example of this. Mainly a rhythm guitar song, like a lot of their best work. It's an overdubbed song too, which they tried their hardest not to have to do.
The rhythm kicking in at the 2:50 mark near the end is the rhythm in the background of the solo you hear on "Van Halen II"...the solo is the overdubbed part.
Here's a Japanese kid playing it, caught up close to see it in all it's splendor...pretty much played how you'd hear it live - a little "thin" versus the album track. But it's the rhythm playing that drives the entire song.
NOBODY played like this back then.
Joe Walsh used to say it's the "lead rhythm players" that are the best players. They're two guitarists in one person, and very few can pull that off.
There's no 2nd guitarist. There's no keyboards or horns. As Dave used to say, "no monkey under the stage filling stuff in". It was all Eddie.
As for what killed the band - and why the band went through 3 different singers and why they needed to bring in Eddie's son to play bass as they aged - all you need to know is who the constants were. And those were Eddie and Alex.
They brought in Gary Cherone for one reason only - to flip a very obvious middle finger to Dave and Sammy. And correct me if I am wrong, but I don't ever hear or have read about Dave and Sammy going to rehab multiple times like Eddie (pretty sure Alex has gone a time or two himself also)...so who are you gonna believe, the raging drunkard's story, or the ones who could handle their booze?
Eddie and Alex used to comment about "lead singer disease" when talking about Dave and Sammy. My personal opinion is booze ruined the band. Twice.
The last time I saw VH (the...27th time I saw them with Dave), Dave hit every and I mean every note perfect. Eddie was all over the place, worst "Eruption" solo I'd ever heard him perform. Hell, 2/3 the way through it, it almost felt like he got lost where he was with it.
A couple days later I met a gal who worked the arena that night for the show, part of the backstage catering. She said Eddie downed so much wine backstage before the show she was stunned he could stand up let alone play the show.
After what I saw...I'd believe it. I've had several opportunities since roughly 2008 to see them again...passed on every opportunity.
I completely agree about Eddie's less mentioned skill as a rhythm player. Women In Love is another example of great rhythm guitar. It's so good it steals the song.
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