Jas O
Active member
- Joined
- Feb 2, 2023
- Messages
- 34
A few weeks after I became as Editor for Guitar Player magazine in May 1978, I was shooting hoops backstage at a Day on the Green concert when a young guy wandered over and asked if he could play too. After a spirited game of one-on-one, which he won, we sat down to cool off. When I told him I worked for the magazine, he asked me to interview him and said "Nobody ever wants to interview me." I asked his name, and he said, "Eddie Van Halen." I flipped on my tape recorder and scored what he'd later call "my first interview." If you're interested in hearing this conversation, I recently posted the audio on YouTube:
Eddie Van Halen: "My First Interview" (Complete, HD Audio)
I've also posted Eddie Van Halen: The Complete 1979 Interview (HD Audio), in which he discusses how he builds guitars and tweaks his amps, etc., and mentions purchasing two collectible Les Pauls from Norman Harris. This interview, and the four-hour one we did two weeks later, were the basis of our April 1980 Guitar Player cover story, Eddie's first in a national magazine. Best of all, he plays a lot of unplugged Frankenstrat during the first hour of our 1980 one, Eddie Van Halen: The Complete 1980 Interview - Tape 1 (HD Audio). Eddie always insisted his sound was in his hands, and to my ears his playing in this YouTube post proves it beyond all doubt.
Eddie Van Halen: "My First Interview" (Complete, HD Audio)
I've also posted Eddie Van Halen: The Complete 1979 Interview (HD Audio), in which he discusses how he builds guitars and tweaks his amps, etc., and mentions purchasing two collectible Les Pauls from Norman Harris. This interview, and the four-hour one we did two weeks later, were the basis of our April 1980 Guitar Player cover story, Eddie's first in a national magazine. Best of all, he plays a lot of unplugged Frankenstrat during the first hour of our 1980 one, Eddie Van Halen: The Complete 1980 Interview - Tape 1 (HD Audio). Eddie always insisted his sound was in his hands, and to my ears his playing in this YouTube post proves it beyond all doubt.
