A little over 20 years ago, I got to watch Van Halen’s “Live Without a Net” on VHS and my interest in guitar changed, shifted, exploded.
My perception of the (electric) guitar was altered on a deep level, probably the same way so many of my friends and guitar fans felt the first time they watched Jimi Hendrix, Eric Clapton, Jimmy Page, Chuck Berry, or Steve Vai.
My immediate understanding was that Eddie was a great rhythm player, someone who could fill in songs with riffs, progressions, solos, everything that would make a song fuller, bigger.
Now, THAT was what I wanted to do.
At a certain point of the New Haven concert (renamed “New Halen” for the occasion), my jaw literally dropped down for a few minutes, when Eddie started playing his soon-to-be-named “316” guitar solo.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A2I0a7EwWa8
That was the turning point in my guitar playing (sorry for the cliché!)… this was circa 1993, I think.
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Here go a few photos of the band, with a special focus on the guitarist…
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- Eddie Van Halen, in 1978
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- Van Halen, live in 1980
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- Van Halen, live in 1980
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- Eddie Van Halen and his “Frankenstein”, live in 1984
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- Van Halen, live in 1991
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- Van Halen Dress Rehearsal at The Forum of Los Angeles, February 8th, 2012
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- Van Halen And Kool & The Gang @ The Staples Center, June 1st, 2012
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- Eddie Van Halen’s “wall of sound” in 2012
(…)
He is, in fact, “the last guitar god“.
Eddie Van Halen, “The Last Guitar God”