EDDIE VAN HALEN
Every instrument has its pioneers – game-changing mavericks who push things forward – and if Jimi Hendrix kicked the electric guitar door down, Eddie Van Halen ran through it, picked up what was left, covered it in tape and built a stairway to the next level.
Just like Hendrix, Clapton, Page et al, the idea of Eddie Van Halen doesn’t seem real. These people are heroes, otherworldly beings who exist solely on posters, album covers, stages and the imaginations of thousands of guitar players across the globe. Except Eddie Van Halen is real. We know this, because he’s sat next to us in 5150 Studios, playing the tapped part from Eruption. Eddie built the facility adjacent to his house in the early 80s and it has become the creative headquarters for every Van Halen album since, and the walls are lined with the guitars that bear his name.
It’s lunchtime on a hot California day, the door is wide open and TG has just been introduced to Matt Bruck, Eddie’s right-hand man for all things EVH brand. Eddie and his wife (and publicist) Janie enter the room accompanied by an excited Kody, the Van Halens’ famous-in-his-own-right pet Pomeranian. “[Kody’s] going to be on the cover of Esquire with George Clooney!” Janie proudly announces. “Yeah, me and him go way back,” Eddie adds.
We’re nervous. What do you ask Eddie Van Halen when you have a once-in-a-lifetime hour with him? You ask everything. From the story of that guitar and that amp and how they led to the creation of his gear company, to how he single-handedly became the greatest guitarist of his and, many would fairly argue, every generation since. What you find is that not only is he real, but Eddie Van Halen is one of the most humble, friendly and funny rock stars you’ll meet. And he loves talking about guitars…
It’s been nine years since you started the EVH brand – how did it first come about?
“It doesn’t seem that long! Well, I first started off with Music Man, and then I went to Peavey, and when they stopped, kind of… doing what I asked [laughs], we moved to Fender. Which is a great home, it’s a great team.”
It seems like you’re involved every step of the way with every piece of gear that goes out with your name on it.
“Well, I have to be. If I’m going to use it then it has to be my way, you know what I mean? I’ll approach Matt, and Matt and I will approach the engineers, ‘How about this?’ – and everyone gets excited! Generally, depending on the intricacy or difficulty of the build, it can take anywhere between a year to three years to come to fruition.”
It also seems that your level of involvement is there regardless of the price, too?
“I SAVED THE MONEY FROM DELIVERING PAPERS FOR TWO AND A HALF TO THREE YEARS, AND BOUGHT MY FIRST REAL GUITAR, WHICH WAS A ’68 GOLDTOP LES PAUL WITH SINGLE-COIL P-90 PICKUPS”
“Well, the first thing we started out with was obviously the flagship/ benchmark
