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
Alex Van Halen’s latest idea for a posthumous Van Halen release has the potential to ruffle a lot of feathers.
In a new Rolling Stone interview – his first since the passing of his brother and rock icon Eddie Van Halen – Alex reveals that he’s considering finishing some unreleased Van Halen material with the help of artificial intelligence.
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During the candid conversation, Alex opens up about the “oceanic grief” he experienced after losing Eddie, the blame he places on David Lee Roth for the failed Van Halen tribute tour, as well as his thoughts — and plans — for the band’s extensive archive.
The Van Halen drummer notes that while there are plenty of unreleased tracks recorded over the years, many remain incomplete. “They’re all little pieces,” he says. “A bunch of licks don’t make a song.”
Alex says that he has reached out to OpenAI, the company behind groundbreaking AI chatbot ChatGPT, about analysing “the patterns of how Edward would have played something” in hopes of generating new guitar riffs and solos. He’s even suggested Led Zeppelin frontman Robert Plant to lead the project – despite the fact that the two hadn’t spoken in over 30 years.
“Ideally, it’d be Robert Plant,” he says. “You’re gonna think I’m out of my fucking mind. But when conditions are right, things will manifest.
Regardless, it’s a decision that will warrant much discussion within the Van Halen camp, given the way Wolfgang Van Halen has previously expressed his reservations about putting out unreleased Van Halen material.
“In dad’s own words, you know, he released what he thought was worthy,” Wolfgang said. “I really don’t appreciate when you see certain artists pass and you see their families go through and just kind of release everything. It’s like, that’s not right, to me.”
In the meantime, fans can look forward to the upcoming release of Unfinished, the never-before-heard final song recorded and composed by Eddie and Alex Van Halen. The track will be released as part of the audiobook version of Alex’s upcoming memoir, Brothers, which arrives on 22 October.
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