Eddie Van Halen & What It Means To Be An American

[Up All Night]

Event at the Smithsonian Feb. 12, 2015

Video of the event:

http://www.whatitmeanstobeamerican.org/the-takeaway/necessity-is-the-source-of-eddie-van-halens-inventions/

Photos:

https://www.flickr.com/photos/zocalopublicsquare/16514007571/in/set-72157650782943841

Van Halen’s Dutch father was a classical musician who “traveled the world making music,” said Van Halen. He met Van Halen’s Indonesian mother while performing in her home country just after World War II. They got married and moved to Holland, where “life became a little rough.” Van Halen’s mother was a second-class citizen; she was stuck at home with “two rugrats” (Eddie and his brother, Alex) while her husband was away gigging for weeks at a time. So they decided to pack up the family and move to Californiaâ€"to “Beverly” (“it wasn’t Beverly Hills then”), said Van Halen.

En route to America by boat, Van Halen’s father performed with the on-board band during the nine-day journey. After their father suggested that his sons play during intermission, Eddie and Alex learned performance came with perks: The next night, they were eating dinner at the captain’s table.

In Southern California, Van Halen’s mother worked as a maid, and his father pursued music while working as a janitor. The family lived in one room in a house they shared with two other families. In a new country, speaking a new language, the one constant thread was music. “We always liked things loud,” said Van Halen. Nonetheless, he and his brother spent years playing classical pianoâ€"despite the fact that Eddie never learned how to read music.

Once the Van Halen brothers discovered rock ’n’ roll, they quit piano lessons. Eddie got a drum set, which his brother coveted.

“I never wanted to play guitar,” he said. But his brother was good at the drums, so Eddie gave into his brother’s wishes: “I said, ‘Go ahead, take my drums. I’ll play your guitar.’”

Van Halen’s innovation isn’t limited to his equipment. Music journalist Denise Quan noted that he pioneered the art of playing with both his right and left hands on the guitar’s frets. Grabbing a guitar, Van Halen talked about finding inspiration at a Led Zeppelin concert at the Forum in Inglewood, California. After seeing Jimmy Page play a lick with one hand on the guitar and the other raised up in the air, Van Halen decided to try placing his second hand on the frets as well. He played a few of the melodies that resulted to loud hoots from the audience.

The main reason he squeezed so many techniques out of the guitar was also “out of necessity,” said Van Halen. He couldn’t afford a wah-wah pedal, a fuzzbox, or other gear that created the processed sounds he sought. He had to rely on his fingers alone.

[Gd5150]

Cool story. Figured it was going to be on how he became huge, and meth turned him in to a dbag and destroyed his career. VH has been totally irrelevent since 94.

[MV/Liberace!]

here's a video you can see without having to log in:

www.youtube.com/watch?v=sXoHyiJUItQ

[Up All Night]

Cool story. Figured it was going to be on how he became huge, and meth turned him in to a dbag and destroyed his career. VH has been totally irrelevent since 94.

Oh, you're soooo wrong about 94.... VH has been irrelevant since '84. But, it's still fun to reminiscence. 

[Eddie Coyle]

     I was hoping this had something about stripping Sammy Hagar's citizenship and deporting his tequila-selling ass.

[nextgen.fm]

PANAAAAMMA!!!

lol

[Up All Night]

Van Halen - Jump HQ

[eyenoeyeno]

Cool story. Figured it was going to be on how he became huge, and meth turned him in to a dbag and destroyed his career. VH has been totally irrelevent since 94.

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