{"id":832,"date":"2020-10-08T01:33:53","date_gmt":"2020-10-08T01:33:53","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/dev.nysmusic.com\/2020\/2020\/10\/08\/eddie-van-halen-1955-2020\/"},"modified":"2020-10-08T01:33:53","modified_gmt":"2020-10-08T01:33:53","slug":"eddie-van-halen-1955-2020","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/dev.nysmusic.com\/2020\/2020\/10\/08\/eddie-van-halen-1955-2020\/","title":{"rendered":"Eddie Van Halen, 1955-2020"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Esteemed guitar icon and rock legend Eddie Van Halen<\/a> passed away yesterday at the age of 65 after an extended bout with cancer. Best known as the shaggy haired lead guitarist of the eponymous band that he co-founded along with his brother, Van Halen<\/a>‘s passing is a loss sure to be felt throughout the music industry. And it marks the end of an era for an American band that reached a level of popularity few others have.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"RIP
Eddie Van Halen – photo by Mark McGauley<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n

Edward Lodewijk Van Halen was born in Nijmegen, Netherlands, on January 26th, 1955, a year and a half after his older brother Alex, to a Dutch father and an \u00adIndonesian mother. His father, also a musician, joined the Dutch Air Force band as a way to make money. When Eddie was eight years old, the family immigrated to Pasadena, CA where they set roots down and later established one of the most successful American bands of all time.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"RIP
(l-r) Eddie Van Halen, David Lee Roth, Mark Anthony, Alex Van Halen<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n

Originally, Eddie was a drummer and his brother would play guitar. Frustrated that he couldn’t handle the drum solo on The Safaris’ “Wipe Out<\/a>,” the brothers decided to make one of the most impactful instrument switches of all time. The Van Halen brothers would go on to join several local short lived bands in the Pasadena area. In 1972, they formed a band called Genesis featuring Eddie as lead vocalist\/guitarist, Alex on drums, and Mark Stone on bass. They initially rented a sound system from David Lee Roth but decided to save money by letting him join as lead vocalist even though his previous audition(s) had been unsuccessful.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Roth was the only guy who had a PA. We were renting his PA every weekend for $35 and getting $50 for the gigs. So it was cheaper to get him in the band.<\/p>Eddie Van Halen<\/cite><\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

The band later changed its name to Mammoth, after learning Genesis was already in use. In 1974, the band replaced Stone on bass with Mark Anthony from local band Snake and again re-named itself, this time for good, to Van Halen. Like most bands, they started out playing parks and backyard parties in the Pasadena area. This soon gave way to gigs at small bars and strip clubs in the Hollywood area.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

What helped Van Halen significantly in its early years was their ability to self-promote. They would hand out flyers before shows at local high schools and also after Aerosmith and Black Sabbath concerts when they be in the area. After catching a show at a Sunset Boulevard club, Gene Simmons even helped produce a demo recording for them and took it to KISS management who would later inform him this fledgling band “had no chance of making it.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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