Alex Van Halen consulted Brian May for advice on how Van Halen could continue without Eddie
Van Halen drummer and co-founder Alex Van Halen has opened up about how the death of his brother, Eddie Van Halen, affected the group’s dynamic, and how he turned to Queen‘s Brian May for advice on how to get the band back on track without him.
READ MORE: Alex Van Halen says he’s reached out to OpenAI to analyse “the patterns of how Edward would have played something” in hopes of generating new Eddie Van Halen riffs and solos
In an interview with Rolling Stone, Alex says after having several calls with Brian May, he became inspired with regard to how Van Halen might pay tribute to Eddie on stage, taking ideas from how Queen do so for Freddie Mercury. Alex then approached David Lee Roth, although the frontman was having none of it.
“The thing that broke the camel’s back, and I can be honest about this now,” Alex says, “was I said, ‘Dave, at some point, we have to have a very overt – not a bowing – but an acknowledgement of Ed in the gig. If you look at how Queen does it, they show old footage.’ And the moment I said we gotta acknowledge Ed, Dave fuckin’ popped a fuse.… The vitriol that came out was unbelievable.” As the drummer recalls, David refused to pay tribute to his brother.
“I’m from the street,” he recalls. “‘You talk to me like that, motherfucker, I’m gonna beat your fucking brains out. You got it?’ And I mean that. And that’s how it ended.”
“It’s just, my God. It’s like I didn’t know him anymore. I have nothing but the utmost respect for his work ethic and all that. But, Dave, you gotta work as a community, motherfucker. It’s not you alone anymore.”
Dave and Alex’s inability to meet eye to eye left the band in limbo as the drummer refused to overlook his brother’s contribution to Van Halen. Soon enough, reunion tour plans were cancelled and Alex has few regrets about it.
“It’s too bad on one hand, but it’s fine on the other,” he says. “Because now, in retrospect, playing the old songs is not really paying tribute to anybody. That’s just like a jukebox, in my opinion.… To find a replacement for Ed? It’s just not the same.”
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Source: www.guitar-bass.net
