Eddie Van Halen RIP

[Terry]

Ed's passing won't be good for Van Hagar's legacy.

As more young people decide to go through the VH catalog, they will see how inferior that era was to the original.

The terrestrial classic rock radio stations down here commenting on Ed's passing would invariably play several tunes of CVH material as a rock block tribute. Which is pretty much reflective of what they had been doing prior, anyway: very heavy on the CVH, with very little Van Hagar being played.

Ed's legend was pretty much cemented by the time 1984 rolled around, anyway. Van Hagar had several hits, but far as guitar work goes, Ed had already done all he ever needed to before Hagar joined the band in terms of establishing himself as one of the all time greats of rock guitar.

[twonabomber]

I'm listening to How Many Say I, because I know you all hate it!

[Terry]

Irving Azoff confirmed today that they are already talking about looking in the 5150 vaults for possible material for a posthumous release. I thought it was kind of tasteless of that money-grubber to be already talking about posthumous releases with Ed still alive 72 hours ago...but yeah, if he's anything like Dhani Harrison, that's one way Wolfgang might deal with his grief. Of course, that just might be maddeningly difficult.

Dunno if it's necessarily money grubbing that would be the motivation, or the sole or primary motivation. It may be. I don't know any of the people involved. They could all be a greedy bunch.

Could be that the Van Halens had already been looking at whatever archived, previously unreleased material was kicking around 5150 before Eddie passed, in terms of a hypothetical vault release.

As a fan, honestly I can't say I'd care much one way or the other what motivations were behind that type of project, long as it was released. Sort of along the lines of my not really caring if, say, Ed and Dave were getting along or not: I just wanted to see and hear them play, and the state of their friendship - or lack thereof - mattered not to me.

[Matt White]

Van Halen Album & Song Sales Spike by More Than 6,000% After Eddie Van Halen's Death
By Keith Caulfield
After the death of Eddie Van Halen on Oct. 6, the band Van Halen, which he co-founded, saw its catalog of albums and songs post a 6,198% sales increase in the U.S. that same day.

According to initial sales reports to Nielsen Music/MRC Data, Van Halen’s collected albums and songs sold 40,000 copies on Oct. 6 -- up 6,198% compared to just under 1,000 sold on Oct. 5.

Looking just at the band’s album sales, the act’s catalog sold 9,000 copies on Oct. 6 (up by 5,835% compared to a negligible sum on Oct. 5). The act’s top-selling album on Oct. 6 was its self-titled 1978 debut, with 2,000 sold.

Forever No. 1: Van Halen's 'Jump'
In terms of songs, the group sold 31,000 tracks on Oct. 6 -- up 6,317% compared to less than 1,000 sold on Oct. 5.

Van Halen’s top 10 biggest-selling songs on Oct. 6 were: “Jump” (3,000), “Panama” (2,000), “Eruption” (2,000), “Runnin’ With the Devil” (2,000), “You Really Got Me” (2,000), “Dance the Night Away” (1,000), “Why Can’t This Be Love” (1,000), “Hot for Teacher” (1,000), “Ain’t Talkin’ ‘Bout Love” (1,000) and “Jamie’s Cryin’” (1,000). (Figures are rounded to the nearest thousand.)

“Jump” was Van Halen’s only No. 1 hit, among 16 top 40 hits, on the Billboard Hot 100 chart, spending five weeks atop the list in 1984.

News on any further sales gains, as well as significant streaming increases, will be reported in the coming days. It’s expected that Van Halen may impact a number of Billboard’s charts (dated Oct. 17) next week.

[twonabomber]

I dunno.

Look at what the Prince Estate has done. Some of the releases are very, very good, and some are just meh. The Versace Experience comes to mind. Sounds like a fucking cassette. The Sign O' the Times set, though...fucking brilliant.

Does Wolfgang or whoever decide to just roll out new colors for the guitars every year?

Speaking of which...I have a Slime Green Wolfgang on the way...figured I'd pull the trigger before I can't find one.

[Seshmeister]

This is not like Prince.

Prince had tons of stuff recorded but was also releasing a huge amount right up to his death.

As I have said before, the idea that Eddie had 10 albums of great material but chose to release Up for breakfast or instead use old demos for ADKOT is ridiculous.

Also in what crazy dark as fuck scenario do you have his family saying 'finally he is dead now we can release that stuff he didn't want released to increase our fortunes by 1%'?

It's all nonsense that we will be reading about for years now.

[twonabomber]

The Prince Estate got a lil' taste of money and went OFF. The nowhere near finished book that got released proved it.

[twonabomber]

I didn't see this a few years ago...funny

5 Crazy Stories from Eddie Van Halen’s Weekend With Thomas Dolby

A stone statue, the film This is Spinal Tap and the ozone layer all took a beating when Thomas Dolby spent a weekend at Eddie Van Halen's home, as the pop star explains in his new book.

You may know only know Dolby from his 1982 pop smash "She Blinded Me With Science," but as The Speed of Sound: Breaking the Barriers Between Music and Technology makes clear, he's led a remarkably diverse and successful career as a composer, performer, producer and technology pioneer. He's also collaborated with a dizzying array of musicians, including the Grateful Dead, David Bowie, George Clinton and Def Leppard.

The story of his collaboration with Van Halen's resident guitar genius begins innocently enough, with Eddie being asked to contribute to two songs ("Eastern Bloc" and "Close But No Cigar") on Dolby's 1992 album Astronauts & Heretics. Van Halen explained that his group was in the middle of recording their 1991 effort For Unlawful Carnal Knowledge, but invited Dolby up to his home recording studio to squeeze in a couple days of work. Dolby says he soon realized, though, that "every hour of [Van Halen's] day was like a scene from Spinal Tap." Here's five of the best examples:

First Rule: No 'Spinal Tap' Jokes

When Dolby tried to break the ice by quoting a famous This is Spinal Tap line about sustain to Van Halen, he was met with a blank stare. When he asked if the guitarist had ever seen the famous rock music mockumentary, Eddie replied, "Yeah, dude, we saw that piece of shit." He then went on to explain, "We didn't think it was funny. It was like, someone followed us around with a camera, put it up on a screen, and everybody fell over laughing."

Andy Johns Vs. The Statue

Legendary producer and engineer Andy Johns (Exile on Main Street, Physical Graffiti and many, many more) was working with in the studio with Van Halen when Dolby visited. Apparently having overindulged a bit, Johns excused himself from the session early. Soon after he left, there was a "deafening crash." Dolby and his host ran outside, to see that Johns had reversed his large mauve Cadillac convertible into a stone statue. "He's knocked an arm off one of the statues," Van Halen complained, adding that his then-wife, actress Valerie Bertinelli, "[is] gonna kill me."

No Privacy

Dolby was surprised to learn that even in his secluded home property, rock's most famous guitarist was under surveillance. As the pair took the short drive from Eddie's 5150 home studio to his house in a custom-painted golf cart, Dolby "suddenly heard the honking of horns and shrill distant cries of 'EDDIE! EDDIE! YEAH!!' High up above his property a group of fans had parked their trucks and hot rods on a scenic overlook... and they were screaming and flashing their headlights, amazed to get an actual sighting of their favorite guitar god."

Eddie Vs. The Environment

Apparently, the importance of energy conservation hadn't hit home with Eddie just yet. Dolby says as soon as they arrived home from the studio, Van Halen plopped down in an oversized armchair and hit the remote control to turn on the massive gas fireplace "with a loud whooooomf!" This prompted a swift rebuke from Bertinelli: "Eddie! It's ninety degrees out!" "Crank up the AC then, would you babe?" Eddie replied, "I'm beat."

Alex Van Halen Vs. Outside Interests

Prior to his visit, Van Halen had warned Dolby that his bandmates, in particular his drummer brother Alex Van Halen, wasn't thrilled with the notion of Eddie working on other people's albums. During a chance meeting with Alex in the kitchen, Dolby decided to find out the truth for himself. "I hear you're not nuts about Eddie playing on my album?" He asked. "You got that right, bro," the drummer responded. "Last time we let him do that, he did a solo on that little fucker Michael Jackson's [Thriller] record. That was the only reason [Van Halen's subsequent album] 1984 got stuck at No. 2."

https://ultimateclassicrock.com/eddie-van-halen-thomas-dolby-stories/

[SuchGoodPhotog]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hZtQR24ouV8&feature=emb_title

[twonabomber]

I'm off for a week, might go check it out. Rock Hall memberships are currently 50% off and I haven't renewed yet this year.

Here Are All the Eddie Van Halen Guitars and Gear You Can See at the Rock Hall

Posted By Jeff Niesel on Wed, Oct 7, 2020 at 1:53 pm

As you can imagine, the Rock Hall has a number of items from the late Eddie Van Halen, who passed away yesterday. The Van Halen guitarist was inducted into the Rock Hall in 2007.

The Rock Hall supplied us with the following descriptions of his gear that's currently on display.

Outside of the Garage, the Rock Hall has Van Halen’s 1994 Peavey EVH Wolfgang Prototype, his second collaboration with a guitar manufacturer to produce a signature instrument. Made by noted luthier Jim DeCola, the prototype predates the production model by two years, and Van Halen used it to record at his 5150 Studios.

Named after Van Halen’s son, the Wolfgang was manufactured in two stock models and could be custom-ordered.

On Level O at the Rock Hall, you can see a 2012 Wolfgang/Eruption guitar. It features a basswood body with carved maple top, a quarter sawn maple neck with ebony fingerboard. It features a hand-sprayed “rattlecan” white finish with black stripes, two humbuckers with volume and tone controls, a pickup selector and momentary kill switch. The 2012 EVH Wolfgang was custom-made for Van Halen by Chip Ellis for the band's 2012 Japanese tour and live album. Although this Wolfgang is Van Halen’s modern/current design, the finish is a throw-back to the Eruption guitar graphic and was sprayed in the same fashion as the original was sprayed back in 1978 – outdoors on Van Halen’s property using lacquer “rattlecans.”

On Level 6, you can see Van Halen’s massive rig. A self-taught guitarist, Van Halen “created a new vocabulary on his instrument through an array of jaw-dropping, never-before-heard, innovative playing techniques such as two-handed tapping, in which both hands sound the strings from the fingerboard, which allowed him to produce fluid phrases at dizzying speeds,” as it's put in the description that accompanies the display

His use of “dive bombing,” depressing and releasing the vibrato bar to "create dramatic descents and ascents in pitch, drove innovations in guitar design such as the locking vibrato system and ushered in new standards in virtuosic rock guitar performance."

The Rock Hall display features a reconstruction of his rig as it appeared onstage in 2012 in North America and 2013 in Australia, Japan and North America. It includes amplifier speaker cabinets, tube-powered amplifiers (heads) and effects units. He used the pedal board from the late '90s into the early 2000s, and the sixth floor display includes a replica of the 1978 White with Black Stripe “Super Strat” that Van Halen conceived and built himself. In addition, there’s a replica of Van Halen's '79 “Bumblebee” Black with Yellow Stripe “Super Strat” guitar that he intended to be the second generation and improved version of the 1978 White with Black Stripe Stratocaster.

“While it never quite lived up to his expectations, and frustrated Van Halen in the process,” reads the Rock Hall’s description of the Bumbleee, “it did spawn one of Eddie’s most adored stripe color themes of black with yellow stripes.”

The exhibit even includes a replica of Frankenstein, Van Halen’s most famous and well-known guitar.

Van Halen discusses his rig and his unique approach to playing guitar in a videotaped interview that shows just what a musical genius he was.

https://www.clevescene.com/scene-and-heard/archives/2020/10/07/heres-all-the-eddie-van-halen-guitars-and-gear-you-can-see-at-the-rock-hall

[DONNIEP]

My memory is kinda shaky at this point, seeing as how I turn 50 next month. But I think the first time I heard a Van Halen record was when I was either nine or ten. I’ve always loved music and when I was a little kid I had this Sesame Street AM radio. And my favorite station was out of Charlotte, AM 61 Big Ways. It was a pop/rock station and they played Reeling In The Years a couple times a day. Still my favorite song of all time. Anyways, I don’t remember if they played any VH. If they did I just don’t remember. What I do remember is being at my next door neighbor Tony’s house one day in ‘79 or ‘80 and we were in his older brother Kevin’s room listening to some KISS records, coincidentally. Now, Kevin had this big ass bookcase slap full of records, thinking back it seemed like hundreds of records. Kevin was never home but we had his permission to listen to his records so long as we put them back where they were. And one day I was looking thru them and came across VH 1. I’m not going to look up the track list but I know the first song we listened to was RWTD. And I was blown away. And from that moment, Van Fucking Halen was my favorite band.

In junior high and high school I had VH pictures in my lockers at school, along with Heather Thomas (I got in deep shit for that one lol) and other hot chicks. In high school I drew the VH logo on most of my notebooks and in 10th grade I almost got suspended for carving that logo into the top of my desk in German class lol. Damn thing took me a couple days to do. I spray painted a pair of Vans Eddie style in fluorescent green and black and then a pair of Chucks red white and black. My cassette tape carrier I kept in my car was mostly Van Halen. And I wore those things out!

My daughter discovered VH on her own when she was maybe 10 or so. Then she discovered Yankee Rose and she used to blast the shit out of it. Then in 2012 she did a solo dance in dance class to Stay Frosty. That same year she asked if she could go with me to the VH show. We went and Momshell posted live updates from me from the show. My kid had a blast.

I know I’ve been critical of Ed - and that’s documented here on this site. But his and Dave’s music have been a part of my life for 40 years. My daughter texted me a couple hours after the news broke to ask if I’d heard. Full circle, from that first listen to my 20 year old daughter asking if I’d heard Ed had passed.

Rock In Peace, Edward. Not just from me, but from a kid who blasted you guys’ music and danced her heart out to one of your songs...And with that - I think it’s time to crack one open and blast Unchained as loud as I can. Apologies to my neighbors..

[Seshmeister]

It's not on YouTube or I would have linked to it so you could see it too (UK people can see on ITVHub Good Morning Britain) but maybe the most touching thing I've seen so far is Pierce fucking Morgan interviewing Gene Simmons about Eddie, These are by all standards two pretty fucking flawed individuals and watching them in particular Simmons breaking down affected me.

[Seshmeister]

I know I’ve been critical of Ed - and that’s documented here on this site. But his and Dave’s music have been a part of my life for 40 years. My daughter texted me a couple hours after the news broke to ask if I’d heard. Full circle, from that first listen to my 20 year old daughter asking if I’d heard Ed had passed.

This is the thing. It's the difference between really good and legend.

I saw it happen with a Prince fan(atic)friend when he checked out and I think many of us maybe had those messages I know I did.

'Just heard the news are you ok?' 'Fuck EVH died first thing i thought was you?'

[twonabomber]

Friend of mine messaged and asked if I was okay. Got on FB and...shit. I had just gotten into the break room, I was at work.

I was off the day Prince went and that was probably a good thing. Michael Hutchence, too.

Oddly enough, I was at work when I heard about Michael Jackson...

[twonabomber]

Star Fleet is currently cranked to the stratosphere...