Deprived of the loss of his brother Eddie, Alex Van Halen looks back with new memories

When Eddie Van Halen guitarist died of cancer in 2020, his older brother Alex was overcome with sadness. Their age difference was only 20 months, and they grew up together as “yin and yang… two halves of a whole,” Alex says.

Raised by a Dutch father and an Indonesian mother, the brothers immigrated to the United States from the Netherlands when Alex was 8 and Eddie was 6. In California, they learned to play music – mainly classical and military marches – but at one point they focused on rock. they started listening The Beatles and The Five by Dave Clark. In 1974 they founded the band Van Halenwith the singer David Lee Roth and bassist Michael Anthony.

Initially, Alex was the guitarist in the family, but he discovered that he had “no connection to the instrument at all,” he says. – I just didn’t feel it. On the other hand, his brother’s bond with the guitar was like fate. “The fact was that when Ed played, he made that instrument sing. It was unbelievable. (I said) ‘Ed, you play guitar. I want drums. » “

Known for his flamboyant, high-energy performances, Van Halen produced 12 studio albums and singles, including “Runnin’ with the Devil,” “Hot for Teacher” and the 1983 anthem “Jump.” There have been a few notable line-up changes (mostly vocalists) over the course of their career, but Eddie and Alex are the only members of Van Halen to play on all of these albums.

In a new memoir titled BrethrenAlex reflects on his relationship with Eddie and the decades they spent making music together. “We left a lot of things unfinished,” he says. “Of course, every time I hear our music, I come back to this place.”

Highlights from the interview

How Eddie Van Halen found his voice as a guitarist

He played the guitar from the moment he woke up until he went to sleep. And it was just his way of communicating or finding peace with himself and the earth. … It’s just that Ed had a sensitivity that was very difficult to describe. … The problem with Ed was that he could play anything. Therefore, the hardest thing for him was finding his own voice. And he spent a lot of time doing it. And when he finally found it, that was it. Big smile.

About setting drum kits on fire during performances

For me, fire represents temporariness – only the moment counts. I mean, the flame is there and poof, it’s gone. So this is life, right? For me, that’s what it meant. And there was an element of danger because we did it at such an amateur level. … My favorite memory of it all was that we got it down to a science. When we do this during a performance, lighter fluid starts running down my arm. And then I look over and notice that my hands are on fire. So I guess this can’t be good, right? So I look at (my technician) Greg, who is technically there with a fire extinguisher. So I look at him and he looks at me and gives me a thumbs up. “Looks great, man!” I will never forget this as long as I live.

On This is Spinal Tap a mockumentary that satirizes a heavy metal band

It wasn’t funny at all. Ed and I saw it and said, “That’s what we experienced!” That’s what’s happening. It’s mind bending. The public really has no idea what goes on behind the scenes. And I’m certainly not going to burst the bubble. But there were many elements in this movie that were more real than parody.

About how the band gets nervous when Eddie played guitar on Michael Jackson’s “Beat It”.

If I remember correctly, he consulted (us) and we said: No. … I really wanted to kick his ass because our model was basically Led Zeppelin. The way they organized their business, the way they organized their game and who they played with. You couldn’t get Jimmy Page anywhere else. You can only get it on Led Zeppelin. Come to the show. That’s all. You don’t hang out with Michael Jackson. But Ed violated it. And that started a whole cascade of bad vibes.

After David Lee Roth left the band in 1985

(Eddie’s collaboration with Michael Jackson) wasn’t really the only thing because things were already starting to unravel. When we named the album 1984it had nothing to do with the year. It had to do with George Orwell and the dystopia of what was happening. The band was so broken up that we almost didn’t play together at all. And unfortunately, MTV has become the dominant means of conveying all this. And Dave, being a visible guy, naturally opted for more visual elements. I don’t blame him for all this, but it’s just bad (because) we were on the verge of something really, really big. …No one fights better than friends.