RIP EVH

[Brian Haner Sr.]

As I'm sure you've heard, we lost Eddie Van Halen today. I only met him once. My band opened for VH in Hollywood way back in 1973. We exchanged little more than "Nice set" and "Thanks" as we passed each other back stage. When they took the stage (pre David Lee Roth), I remember Eddie tapping, and me not quite understanding exactly what I was seeing - or hearing. For some reason the amount of notes I was hearing didn't match what his hands were doing. lol - It was like being caught in a tornado.
Needless to say, I was not surprised when they became big a couple of years later - with arguably one of the best debut albums any band has ever made.
Very few musicians are game changers. Eddie certainly was. There was guitar before Eruption and guitar after Eruption. And they were completely different animals.
We all stand on the shoulders of giants. For guitar players, there are no bigger shoulders than Eddie's.
He will go down as - perhaps - the most influential guitarist of all time. And we all owe him a debt of gratitude.
Rest In Peace, my friend.
And thank you.

 

[Jamie London]

Beautifully said PG, and what a cool memory to have! Definitely perked me up a bit after being bummed the last few hours since the news broke.
Today is going to be rough for a lot of players, and fans of music as a whole, but what an incredible legacy he’s leaving behind. RIP to a brilliant brilliant player and human

 

[Daniel Sobota]

I had already made a thread, but you absolutely deserve to make it yourself, man.

In retrospect, I'm just glad we lived through the same period as him. The man became immortal 35 years ago. Eddie Van Halen's influence will seep through for the rest of music history.

 

[Jesse Salmons]

Im definitely more a randy rhoads fan than EVH (wink wink nudge nudge) but EVH was a huge influence on me starting out and along with Randy was one of my first Guitar Heroes. I remember being a 12 year old with his first floyd guitar trying to learn all his cool tricks and divebombs and pinch harmonics. I even have “Best of Both worlds” on CD. Truly lost a legend on this day.

 

[Alicia Willis]

Very well said Papa! Eddie was one of the big guys for me among others. I have visceral memories of my childhood with Van Halen playing in the background as my mother cleaned the house or prepared dinner or we were driving somewhere. I know many equate him to his crazy solos, but for me, it was always his rhythm ! A tear was definitely brought my eye today and I hope his legacy continues to live on !

 

[Donovan Etue]

Well said! Like a lot of folks I have a few memories of riding in the backseat of the family car on a trip to town or just going somewhere in general and hearing Van Halen on the radio. Van Halen 1 came out the year Dad was in 8th grade so he spent his high school years/early adulthood with Van Halen being a good chunk of the soundtrack. Anytime VH popped up on the radio or if he put a cd in it was practically always cranked up haha. While Eddie wasn't the guy that initially got me to pickup guitar and he isn't necessarily on my Mt Rushmore of major influences, he is a musician I have a tremendous amount of respect for. One thing that I'm always amazed by is his talent in everything he did. He was a impressive innovator, technically skilled beast, incredible songwriter, and in my opinion had probably the best stage presence around. Sure there are people that are better than Eddie in 1 or 2 categories but there aren't any that stick out in my mind as being better than him at everything. There are great guitarists that have great stage presence and are great songwriters but they aren't really innovative. There are great innovators who are technically remarkable but their stage presence lacks. Eddie had everything. The guitar world/music industry lost one of it's greatest today. Lost but most definitely not forgotten. RIP EVH.

 

[Ed Seith]

The funny thing about Ed is that you simply couldn't hate him, no matter what. He wasn't polarizing in any way, because in addition to being amazing, that grin was just so goddamn disarming. How could you ever be mad at that face? Even Valerie couldn't stay mad at him, even if she couldn't stay with him.

And as guitar players, not all of us held Eddie as their favorite, but we ALL knew that whoever WAS your favorite was a Disciple of Eddie. It didn't matter who it was (unless it was Clapton or Gilmour - the "Old Guard"). Like #PapaSaid, there's before him, and after him, and that's it. If you played rock guitar, his DNA was all over you.

And it wasn't just the playing. Syn's own Hellwin amp, the foundation of his tone even now, is, at heart, a tuned 5150. That's EVH. Schecter, Ibanez, ESP, Charvel/Jackson, and every other manufacturer that built their store on the "superstrat" owes a debt to Edward.

Truly a legend and a giant.

 

[Rad Synner]

You know, I have been thinking about Eddie's legacy. I can't say I was the biggest EVH fan but I for sure respected him.

Then it hit me. It hit me why Eddie held such a giant status amongst guitar players: You can't start playing guitar without having heard of EVH. Or hearing about someone who was influenced by him. Or how some more modern technique came from his playing.

And that is one hell of a legacy. Making such an impact into your craft that anyone who takes interest in guitar will hear your name at a point or another? This is not something that anyone can achieve and can only be a testament to how great he was. And to that I find comfort that he will be forever remembered and is now, as he was, immortal through every single person who picks up a guitar.

Truly Amazing.

Rest in peace, Eddie.

 

[Dominik Gräber]

Thanks for sharing this PG!

 

[Larry Tooley]

He was the guy I saw on MTV as a grade-schooler that made me want to play guitar. I am heart broke, but grateful for the music he left us.

 

[Salman AlKh]

I looked at his red, black, and white-colored guitar and thought, "That shit looks fucking sick." I was also thinking of getting one as well. I wish I did. RIP EVH. Your spirit will never die.

 

[Adin Shepherd]

While I have never been a big Van Halen fan, I have nothing but respect for Eddie and his influence on modern guitar.

RIP Eddie and thank you for the legacy you have left

 

[Andrew Milner]

Every guitarist knows how good EVH was, even though he may fly under the radar a lot. To me, he seems to have been in music what a certain F1 driver from Australia is now. Someone who you might not support or follow too much, but can't help but love and want the best for simply because they're extremely good at what they're doing and they're doing it with a smile.

Such moments are inevitable and yet they hit like a truck because...you realize these guys ain't gonna be around forever. Which hits hard because...they've been around forever for many of us. Even though you may not have followed them, they were always there. I felt the same way when Chester passed away 3 years ago.

 

[Brian Haner Sr.]

The funny thing about Ed is that you simply couldn't hate him, no matter what. He wasn't polarizing in any way, because in addition to being amazing, that grin was just so goddamn disarming. How could you ever be mad at that face? Even Valerie couldn't stay mad at him, even if she couldn't stay with him.

And as guitar players, not all of us held Eddie as their favorite, but we ALL knew that whoever WAS your favorite was a Disciple of Eddie. It didn't matter who it was (unless it was Clapton or Gilmour - the "Old Guard"). Like #PapaSaid, there's before him, and after him, and that's it. If you played rock guitar, his DNA was all over you.

And it wasn't just the playing. Syn's own Hellwin amp, the foundation of his tone even now, is, at heart, a tuned 5150. That's EVH. Schecter, Ibanez, ESP, Charvel/Jackson, and every other manufacturer that built their store on the "superstrat" owes a debt to Edward.

Truly a legend and a giant.

Exactly, Ed. The guy is in our DNA. Virtually every player who has ever tapped owes that to Eddie. Think of that. That's insane. Would someone else have come up with tapping? Probably - at some point. But would they have the career and personality to make most EVERY guitar player want to follow them? Probably not. I laugh when players say "he didn't really influence me". That's like a pilot saying, I wasn't influenced by the Wright brothers. The reason you're in the sky at all is because of those guys.
To pursue that metaphor a little further - guitar players everywhere can thank Eddie for their wings.

 

[chris_is_cool]

I'm still at a loss for words... I'm pretty sure Ain't Talking Bout Love Was the first guitar riff that I've consciously heard and thought to myself "Holy shit, that sounds cool". I was like 9 or 10. To this day, it's still low key in my top 5 guitar riffs of all time, with all its apparent simplicity.

It can't be stated often enough, he was a true master of both lead and rythm guitar. RIP!

 

[Edward John]

As I'm sure you've heard, we lost Eddie Van Halen today. I only met him once. My band opened for VH in Hollywood way back in 1973. We exchanged little more than "Nice set" and "Thanks" as we passed each other back stage. When they took the stage (pre David Lee Roth), I remember Eddie tapping, and me not quite understanding exactly what I was seeing - or hearing. For some reason the amount of notes I was hearing didn't match what his hands were doing. lol - It was like being caught in a tornado.
Needless to say, I was not surprised when they became big a couple of years later - with arguably one of the best debut albums any band has ever made.
Very few musicians are game changers. Eddie certainly was. There was guitar before Eruption and guitar after Eruption. And they were completely different animals.
We all stand on the shoulders of giants. For guitar players, there are no bigger shoulders than Eddie's.
He will go down as - perhaps - the most influential guitarist of all time. And we all owe him a debt of gratitude.
Rest In Peace, my friend.
And thank you.

Great words Papa.
Eddie Van Haler redefined electric guitar, if it was not for him then the instrument, as we know it, would be completely different, as would amps and a whole host of other things. As for the music, Van Halen defined how guitar sounded for those who came after him, even those who existed before him altered their style to incorporate his sensibilities. The following decade produced a slew of guitarists all chasing the playing style and tone, some great, others not so great. As for the others in the band, the thundering drums and bass of Alex and Michael, added with the shenanigans of David Lee Roth, you had something spectacular. The biggest US rock band bar anyone. Van Halen as a band was active until recently, there was even supposed to be a Stadium Tour of the Classic Line-up, its a shame that never happened, but we always have the music.
I hope you are in heaven, friend.
God bless EVH.

 

[Edward John]

I had already made a thread, but you absolutely deserve to make it yourself, man.

In retrospect, I'm just glad we lived through the same period as him. The man became immortal 35 years ago. Eddie Van Halen's influence will seep through for the rest of music history.

In the years to come, they will speak of EVH in the same sentence as Beethoven and Bach.

 

[Dominik Gräber]

In the years to come, they will speak of EVH in the same sentence as Beethoven and Bach.

My man! I missed you being active here!
I took a shot at the EVH challenge, you must check it out!

 

[Edward John]

My man! I missed you being active here!
I took a shot at the EVH challenge, you must check it out!

I missed this place as well, I was crazy busy with my university work.
But I still jammed to the 'Back.
I'll check it out.