EVH dead at 65

[Kamen_Kaiju]

I’ll bet that song made just as many players put down their guitars as it made people pick up the guitar.

I had that exact same thought word for word a couple hours ago. Too true.

 

[judson]

I remember watching this, great interview

What it means to be American.....

this is a great interview...there are funny moments , take the time to listen....

eddie mentioned the family was not well off and he had to mod guitars with stuff he found around the house...you just didnt go buy things as food and shelter were the priorities....

he tells the story when he took a dimmer switch from a light wall fixture and hooked it into his amp to work as an attenuator....

he said it worked great for a few minutes........ before it blew all the power out in the entire house...his parents were not amused......

the guy had a great ride and yes it was cut short by a dozen or so years but he lived a great life and made a huge
contribution to the music industry and the art of guitar playing including his live perfomences for many years...

listen to that interview...great american success ......worth every second.

 

[5F6-A]

So sad.... shocked actually!

 

[Dolebludger]

I watched all the network news shows tonight, and all reported on the passing of EVH as a sad day when a person who brought us so much enjoyment and entertainment passed so young — especially in these times when there is so little to enjoy. It was spot on reporting, on which I can’t add anything. EVH was a great player and entrainer, and he is greatly missed.

 

[WaywerdSon]

 

[Spartom]

Saw them twice. Once in 1982. That concert is on yoottoob (largo, md). I saw them again on that Monsters of Rock tour in 87?/88?. VH, Scorpions, Kingdom Come, Dokken, Metallica. etc.

He wasn't the guy who inspired me to take up the guitar, nor a major influence on my style- but he damned sure made me want to go out and grab my guitar and play every time I heard HIM play.

And I loved the vocal harmonies. Beach Boys for a new generation.

I saw them at the same show at the Cap Centre. 8th grade, my second concert ever. Went with my older brother and his burnout friends.

Saw them again on the For Unlawful Carnal Knowledge tour in '91 at the Hampton Coliseum when I was stationed at Langley AFB.

 

[Big electric cat]

 

[MikeyTheCat]

Wonderful solo on 'Push....'. Also wasn't until fairly recently that I realized the opening solo on 'Dirty Movies' is with a slide. He could do anything.

That’s one of my favorites of his (and to be honest I’m not a fan of most of his solos).
I don’t think Eddie could do just anything, but he came up with ways that you thought he could, and I think that was part of his genius.
He had us thinking he could play as fast as Dimeola and was a master of outside notes with his use of symmetrical scale patterns, Spanish Fly had us thinking he could play flamenco and Could This be Magic that he was a finger style slide player (DLR helped with that illusion). He always found a way to pull something off no matter what was thrown at him by Templeton or Roth. And if his takes were a little rough that just added to what he was doing as it felt spontaneous. Eddie rewrote the rule book for guitar players but nobody did it like he could on those Roth era albums. Every time I bought the latest VH album each one of those had me anticipating something different, and he never failed to deliver.

Could This Be Magic?

www.vhnd.com

 

[TheX]

listen to that interview...great american success ......worth every second.

Definitely worth the time.

 

[Tdurden032]

EVH was one of my guitar inspirations from an early age - what a master, he, no doubt, brought additional awareness and popularity to guitar for many fans and aspiring players just like me. My sympathies go out to the family and fans - so sorry to see him go - VH is another concert I wish I would’ve gone to see back in the day - is it safe to say that 2020 might be the worst year ever?

 

[fett]

The jacket is from the "Diver Down Tour". 1982-3. It's real. The guitar is some guy's appreciation of his idol. That's my new bedroom shrine.

 

[SteveC]

Think about your life, and then your life after you heard Eruption.

I’ll bet that song made just as many players put down their guitars as it made people pick up the guitar.

I had that exact same thought word for word a couple hours ago. Too true.

It was when I first heard that song that I realized I would never, ever in my lifetime or in the the afterlife, be able to play guitar. It simply blew me the fuck away.

Practice harder/longer my fucking ass. That is "born in" prodigy.

 

[Bluesky]

Just a break from all the sadness here:

I was looking at all the well wishes to Eddie.....I saw this pic and my wife walking by said whos that with Sigfield and Roy?

True story..........

Can I ask the Mods...........we have a JB and a Slash emoji.......can we get a EVH one? One must exist.........

 

[cooljuk]

I don't know what got me more sad - hearing the news of EVH's death today or realizing that I have almost no friends or family that like Van Halen to call and commiserate with. I knew there would be a thread here, but had been on the road and busy all day.

If I could have no other guitar sound ever, other than the guitar sound on VH1, I'd be more than ok with that.

Speculate all you want, that sound is SOOOOOO "Plexi" in every way.

RIP to an honest innovator and inspiration.

 

[Rogueaverage616]

Rest In Peace Eddie, i was blown away tonight when i learned this.

 

[tjbitt]

I have a great Van Halen concert story. About 30 of my coworkers from the hospital I worked at rented a bus to go to the OU812 tour in Richmond, Va in 1988. I had a couple of nephrostomy bags (kidney drainage bags) filled with Cuervo Gold wrapped around my waist and connected to tubing. As it turns out I get patted down by the security and they lift up my shirt and saw the bags and start to give me shit. Well without batting an eyelash, my wife gets up in the security guards face and says, "how dare you make fun of my husbands infirmity. How would you like to carry piss bags attached to you under your shirt everywhere you go. The security guys freaked out and apologized profusely and escorted us to the standing room only section at the front of the of the stage. We were like 5 feet from Eddie. Will always remember that concert RIP Eddie

 

[Tdurden032]

I normally go jam when I get the kids to
Bed with my irig and headphones but I can’t bring myself to play tonight - just doesn’t seem right somehow...

 

[irocdave12]

My earliest memory of him from when I was just a young buck was around the release of the 1984 album. I will always remember him as much for his great smile and energy he had while playing and the true joy you could tell it brought him doing what he was doing. Always struck me as one of the few artists that really appreciated his success and showed it on stage. And of course who can forget those parachute pants lol. Crazy to think he believed his cancer stemmed from his habit of keeping a metal guitar pick in his mouth for long periods of time. Either way that dude was a legend who will be remembered forever right up there with the greatest to ever touch a guitar. He was the epitome and flat out definition of cool to me and all my friends growing up.

 

[Nard]

I was gutted when they had to pull out of the Black Sabbath tour back in the late 70s. Older friends and family all talked about Hendrix but I was just a kid when he was doing his thing and didnt get what he was about. EVH was the guitarist for my era and like Hendrix inspired so many others.
R.I.P.

 

[rockstar232007]

I found out earlier today, from one of our managers. I almost didn't believe him, and when I pulled out my phone, and saw it for mysellf, my heart felt like it was going to implode.

All I can say is, #fuck2020.