When I decided to play guitar, I wanted to be Eddie Van Halen. How generic does that sound? Do you know why that sounds tired and cliche? Because anyone who picked up a guitar over the last 40 something years, wanted to be Eddie Van Halen. Whether they admit or not. Maybe if even they even knew it or not themselves! Along with Jimi Hendrix, Eddie is the most recognizable guitarists who ever lived. The sound, the look, the imitators, he changed the way the world looked at the guitar and most importantly, how we listened.
Van Halen has been one of my favorite bands since I was old enough to know what having a favorite band meant. I remember being in a booster seat and hearing “Jump” as my Mom sang along driving her Monte Carlo. My Dad playing “Ice Cream Man” on his Gibson Dove. I remember laughing at the God-awful choreography on the “Hot For Teacher” video for the first time seeing MTV.
Like anyone growing up in the 80s and 90s, the music of Van Halen is in my DNA.
As the news of Eddie’s passing broke on the internet, I knew I wanted to say something but what? I’m sad or I’m sorry to hear it? With his music being such a big part of my life, condolences would be an understatement. It also seems like a waste of time to just go over Eddie’s biography or what he and his band Van Halen did for rock n’ roll. I already know all the major publications will be covering all that. If they aren’t, they should be ashamed of themselves! But instead of accolades and pop culture, I want to talk about his influence on me.
As stated earlier, music has always been a big part of my life. Both my parents were always listening to it and my Dad was a musician. I don’t want to sound too romantic but I’m willing to bet the sound of my Dad’s guitar was probably one of the first sounds I could remember hearing. With music being so important, picking up the guitar was inevitable for me. But it didn’t become a thing until some of my friends started to play.
While others were learning basic open chords and single-note melodies, I wanted to be Eddie Van Halen. It was as simple as that!
Obviously, this was something my Dad couldn’t really help me with. It was an incredible advantage to be living with an accomplished musician but at the time, he no longer owned an electric guitar. This forced me to go about things my own way. I was forced to apply what I learned from my Dad to hours of experimentation. At 13, I remember thinking all electric guitars sounded like Eddie and being extremely disappointed when I plugged in my first guitar and it didn’t.
I took the face off my amp and used scissors to cut small slices in the speaker wall. The harder I’d play, the fuzzier the sound was. I destroyed my only practice amp but it was liberating to make something from nothing. I remember when my Dad got home from work and heard me playing, he laughed at my ‘innovation’ hysterically and took me to a local music store to buy me a real amp. On the surface, this story is endearing, but legions of guitarists could probably relate.
The sounds Eddie Van Halen produced blew the minds of audiences and musicians alike.
There are countless stories about the first time hearing Eddie play. Gene Simmons was so impressed with Eddie’s effortless ability, he paid for Van Halen to record demos. Ozzy Osbourne once claimed he quit Black Sabbath out of embarrassment when Van Halen consistently blew them off the stage when they toured together. Virtuosos such as Yngwie Malmsteen and Zakk Wylde have talked in great lengths at how they questioned whether Eddie was even playing an actual guitar.
This innovation would be extraordinary on its own but Van Halen’s music went beyond technical wizardry, it was also fun.
I can’t think of a time when any song from the first 6 Van Halen records hasn’t put me in a better mood. Be it the devil-may-care attitude, shmaltzy boyish charm in the vocals, or face-melting ferocity of Eddie’s tone, Van Halen defined every single aspect of rock n’ roll! The guitars may have been larger than life but there was something innocent and wholesome about it. Even the most technically advanced or otherworldly sounding guitar riff doesn’t sound as if it came from a pen a paper. It all came from the heart.
Where other guitar gods writhed around on stage, faces contorted in pain as if playing hurt, Eddie was effortless. He bounced around with an infectious smile rarely leaving his face! It didn’t hurt, it wasn’t heartbreaking, it was fun! Sometimes Eddie would exaggerate a surprised look as if he couldn’t believe the sound of his guitar either, but it was all in fun. Everything was all in fun and it poured over into the sound.
If you played exactly what you wanted and it sounded like you wanted, how could you not smile?
Effortless guitar playing coupled with communicable stage presence made Eddie feel like an approachable guitar god. Nothing in his repertoire said, “No. You can’t do this so don’t try.”. Instead, it felt like he was one of us who tried and actually succeeded. Something all of us could possibly achieve if we try hard enough and have fun doing it. Rock n’ roll has always been inclusive and that aspect oozed from every note Eddie has ever played. It’s not his rock n’ roll, it’s ours!
While no one else will ever be able to play like Eddie much less replace him, his legacy makes us want to try. Not out of jealously but of envy. Whether it’s playing “Eruption” note-per-note in front of thousands or cutting slits into practice amps for distortion, Eddie Van Halen will be influencing guitarists forever.
Rest In Power, Eddie. You’ll be missed.