At this point, I raise a practical question: Is 2020 ever going to stop?? The year that keeps on sucking has reached yet a new low with the death of incredibly talented and hugely influential guitar hero Eddie Van Halen, who recently passed away at the young age of 65. Guitarists, musicians and music fans all over the world are feeling the pain of losing another virtuoso from the modern rock world. I can’t think of any other guitar player this widely known and loved, honestly. EVH pioneered so many guitar techniques that past guitarists had never thought of–two handed tapping, creative whammy bar phrasing, squealing pinch harmonics–just to name a few. His “brown sound” was sought after by almost every rock guitarist in the 80’s and beyond. He was not only a tremendous guitarist, but also a great songwriter and singer as well. He was the total rock package played full blast at 11. You will be sorely missed, my musical brother…RIP!

I remember buying my first Van Halen cassette tape, Fair Warning, at a small record shop in 1981. This was still a few years before I started playing guitar; however, the attraction was instantaneous and magnetic. The vibe of the album was so cool, and the guitar playing was out of this world! From the intro harmonic tapping on Mean Street to the mutron phaser (and/or keyboard?) sound of One Foot Out the Door, I became a fan instantly. Van Halen II (vinyl) was my next exploration into the modern rock guitar of EVH–I can easily recall the first time I heard Light Up the Sky, it was like being shot out of a cannon! That entire album rocks thoroughly and is some of my favorite material in the band’s history. Of course, I quickly gobbled up the first album, then Women and Children First, and finally 1982’s Diver Down. I had to wait a few years before 1984 came out, which was probably their best selling and most cohesive album, but it was well worth it! That album (being the last Dave album) was a definitive stamp on the revered and integral sound of the real Van Halen. It has everything–great songs, great vocals and of course, insane guitar playing.

When I finally began playing guitar, EVH was one of the first players that I tried to emulate, sitting down for hours trying to cop his licks and looking for all the tablature I could find. It always amazed me how Eddie could be so creative, so inventive, having never formally took lessons or music theory. One of my first great guitar memories was performing “Eruption” in front of the entire school at age 16, as part of the SNL performance band. It was like instant fame from everyone the next day–how cool of a vibe that was! The next year I set the delay for slap back at 400ms and pulled off “Cathedral” in front of the same crowd–they ate it up. A few years later I pulled off “Spanish Fly”, the aptly titled classical/acoustic burning guitar solo (on VH II) also personally known as “acoustic eruption”. It felt so cool being able to play that material, knowing how incredible of a guitarist that Eddie was. I still remember the runs, although I think I sound a little rusty having not played those tunes in about 30 years!

I loved the Sammy Hagar years equally as much as with Dave. Yes, they are two different oysters, but equally awesome, imo. I think Eddie’s songwriting really blossomed with the help of Sammy and some of those tunes are the best selling VH hits of all time. It’s a shame that the guys couldn’t keep things together with Dave, but unfortunately his ego was just larger than life. The other issue was his voice just didn’t hold up well over the years and he sounded worse and worse as time went on, even though he still had that classic charisma working for him.

It seems that over the years Eddie tarnished many of his great long time musical relationships, simply due to a bad attitude and ego himself. It’s unfortunate, but true, and happens to many musicians as they age. The Michael Anthony saga was a huge surprise to me with all the years they shared together. I always thought it was weird seeing Eddie’s son, Wolfgang, replacing Mike on bass, especially at his young age. It has nothing to do with his playing, but it was more of a Van Halen sideshow at that point than it was the memory of the true, innovative and no holds barred Van Halen from back in the day. I honestly lost track of the band over the last 10 years until recently.

Regardless of any one’s opinion of the various iterations of the “grouping” of Van Halen, guitarist Eddie Van Halen stands tall and will be remembered for decades (if not longer) for his unique, creative and influential guitar playing. He is easily in the top 100 guitarists of all time and probably the most well known modern rock player in history. It’s a shame he had to go out so young–although I don’t blame him after this year. RIP Eddie, you are still my hero.