This is great to hear.. Hope Mike had contact with Ed also..
Sammy Hagar says that he had been secretly in contact with Eddie Van Halen in the months leading up to the legendary guitarist’s death.
Hagar, who previously said he hadn’t spoken to Eddie since since the conclusion of VAN HALEN’s 2004 reunion tour, revealed his renewed friendship with his former bandmate in a note which was read over the air this morning (Wednesday, October 6) by radio personality Howard Stern on his SiriusXM show.
Hagar wrote: “Eddie and I had been texting, and it’s been a love fest since we started communicating earlier this year. We both agreed not to tell anyone, because of all the rumors it would stir up about a reunion, et cetera, and we both knew that wasn’t gonna happen. But he also didn’t want anyone to know about his health.”
Sammy continued: “He stopped responding to me a month ago, and I figured it wasn’t good. I reached out one more time last week, and when he didn’t respond, I figured it was a matter of time. But it came way too soon.
EDDIE’S fingers aren’t fingers they are muscle-powered pistons that hammer guitar strings to the fretboard with the force of a rivet gun”.
All thanks to my dear friend oszy who lives in the Netherlands and who has sent me two pictures this morning. The first one is a Dutch newspaper article in honor of Eddie saying that his childhood home has become a place of pilgrimage, the second one is a picture he took himself a few years ago: This is Rozemarijnstraat 59 in Nijmegen, the house where Ed grew up and where he spent his first seven years. According to oszy there is talk right now about naming a street in memory of Eddie Van Halen.
The albums and songs sold 40,000 copies on October 6, with 9,000 of those being just album sales, including 2,000 copies of VAN HALEN’s self-titled 1978 debut.
The top 10 biggest-selling songs on October 6 were: “Jump” (3,000), “Panama” (2,000), “Eruption” (2,000), “Runnin’ With The Devil” (2,000), “You Really Got Me” (2,000), “Dance The Night Away” (1,000), “Why Can’t This Be Love” (1,000), “Hot For Teacher” (1,000), “Ain’t Talkin’ ‘Bout Love” (1,000) and “Jamie’s Cryin’” (1,000).
There’s a lot of cool stories coming out about Ed from various people I’ll post here but if someone wants to start another topic feel free.
From Nuno Bettencourt on Facebook.
Nuno Bettencourt · As a kid who’s life was forever altered when the needle dropped on the fade in of Running With The Devil. I dreamed that one day I could earn my own stripes. But those stripes are only and forever Edward’s. Today, 40 years later, I can only mourn those Stripes.
Once upon a time in Hollywood, recently, while recording the latest Extreme album in my home studio I got a call to come down to the front of my house, that someone is asking for me.
I was like, damn that’s annoying as I was in the zone cutting a guitar solo to a new song called RISE. I dropped my guitar and headed down.
I walk out and… I was being summoned by the one and only… Edward.
As usual I got a warm hug and kiss from Eddie. Even as a God, he always made you feel important.
He was in great spirits. A proud dad, bragging about how Wolfie’s new solo album is gonna blow minds, etc…
What’s cool though, was the last thing Eddie talked about.
He said he was super excited about reaching out to Michael Anthony to finally put the original VH lineup back together. Saying that he wanted to do one final tour and have Van Halen go out the way they came in . Together… Guns Blazing!
Finally as Eddie said his goodbye, he asked about the new Extreme album that we were recording up in the house. As we hugged, he says: “I’ll be back to listen to it when you’re done, and with a sinister raspy laugh , adds “it better be good “.
Finished it. Then. PANDEMIC.
Man, I was like a kid, counting the Covid Days down to when I could blare the new Extreme album in the studio, sitting side by side with My Hero, the GOAT, selfishly wanting to play him all the new guitar work that shamelessly, but with pride has his DNA all over my playing.
I guess that moment wasn’t meant to be…
It’s incredible how as a young player, your guitar chord, is the umbilical chord that initmately connects you to someone you may never meet, moreso than even someone in your own family.
At the drop of a needle or the touch of a space bar. They are there for you 24/7.
As Eddie was… and forever will be. Thank you for shaping who I am today.
Love you, Edward.
You are the ONE.
#edwardvanhalen
EDDIE’S fingers aren’t fingers they are muscle-powered pistons that hammer guitar strings to the fretboard with the force of a rivet gun”.
Sass Jordan · 1978. Montreal. I was the bass player in a band called The PinUps. We played all around town, and in rural Quebec, Ontario and the Maritimes. We were gonna be rockstars. We really lived, ate and breathed music – it was all we did – along with checking out other bands, and hearing what was new coming down the pipeline. The first time we heard Van Halen was a mind blower. NO ONE sounded like that – NO ONE. The fact that David Lee Roth wasn’t much of a singer didn’t even factor into it – because the CRUSHING combo of Alex, Eddie and Mike made things like singing an afterthought. They were the MIGHTIEST of the mighty – absolutely ploughing all the wannabe’s to the curb with their insane power and charisma, topped off with the swaggering machismo of Dave. It was just unstoppable. It changed everything. The heart of rock n’ roll switched it’s beat. And the blazing beauty of Eddie’s guitar playing flash froze itself onto the soul of a generation in an instant. We went to see them live, 3 shows in a row. We were far back in the stadium’s- in the nosebleed seats, cos that’s all we could afford. It didn’t even matter. They were like a steam roller, a mythical creature of epic proportions – absolutely catalyzing the crowd into a single, triumphant entity. Dave was hilariously funny, ad libbing his assless chaps ass off. The fact that he used the same script every night was one of my first lessons in show biz. It seemed so natural, every night – but he said the same shit! Mike was a pulsating giant on the bass, and he sang way better than Dave ever could, but no one cared. Alex was … he was like a Sensei Drum King – a master of flashing cymbals and totem toms- a whirling warrior of rhythm, driving the whole entity with supreme authority. And then … there was Eddie. Transcendent, epic, legend in the making, guitar god, trailblazer, artist, machine … just indescribably, wildly, unthinkably powerful. He changed everything, that Eddie. Cut to 18 years later, 1996. I was at home in my house in the San Fernando Valley, and the phone rang. These were the days before cell phones. I answered, and there was a very strange, covert, secret agent type character on the other end of the line, asking if I was indeed, Sass. ‘Yes’, I replied – ‘who are you?’. ‘Never mind who I am – just get in your car and come to this address – we need a good singer to help us out’. The address was located about a 5 minute drive away from me, up Coldwater Canyon. I hung up the phone and thought to myself – who the hell was that – what a weirdo – and there is no way I’m going to meet some stranger on my own and how did he get my number? Meanwhile, the phone rings again, and it’s Ray Daniels, Rush’s manager, calling. He asks me ‘did you just get a call from Al?’ I’m like .. who is Al? And yes, I just got a call from a strange man who wouldn’t tell me his name. Ray sighs … ‘that was Al’ … I answered ‘AL WHO? WHO IS AL?????’ ‘Alex Van Halen!’ he said, as if I was a moron – like, who else would it be? I was speechless. How on EARTH did Alex Van Halen know me, know my phone number, and why did he want me to come over???? I couldn’t believe it. However, Ray assured me that it was indeed Alex, and that he and Ed were writing some new music and wanted someone to come and sing with them to see what it would be like with vocals on it. They had just fired Sammy, or Sammy had left, or I don’t know what, as I wasn’t up on the gossip – being in my own little world, but, bottom line was – this was VAN HALEN, teenage heroes of mine, and I was going to go and see what they wanted from me. Pulling up to 5150, through the gate and up the driveway, past the house and around the corner was a surreal moment. I think it was Ed’s tech, Scotty, who came out to greet me, and he took me into the hallowed walls of the studio. The only person there was Alex, who was super cool, already hilarious and very welcoming. ….. TBC…. Let me know if you want to hear more of this story in your comments. I’ve never written it out before, and I’m feeling pretty strange knowing that Ed is gone. This is a kind of tribute from me to him. I’ll continue if enough people want to hear it. RIP Eddie Van Halen . We all love you.
EDDIE’S fingers aren’t fingers they are muscle-powered pistons that hammer guitar strings to the fretboard with the force of a rivet gun”.
Sass Jordan · Continued from yesterday …. Remembering Al and Ed – Four Months in 1996 Al was a great guy to hang out with – quirky, funny, intense, and quick to anger, as well as laughter. We would get into these great philosophical discussions about the nature of reality and the future of mankind – and he was always teaching me about ‘showbiz’ and fame – some things he was intimately familiar with. We used to go out to dinner after a long day of hanging out at the studio, listening to music and talking, and the first thing he would tell the host is – ‘we need a table next to the back wall so we can keep an eye on who is coming into the joint’, because, deep down, Alex was profoundly suspicious of the outside world. He operated in a super- secretive, clandestine, almost text book spy like manner when we were out in public. I honestly don’t blame him – fame can really put a weird twist on things – and I don’t know how much of it he was acting out for his captivated pal – me – but he sure was hilarious, especially as he got more into the bottle and more out of his armour. In those days, the boys were publicly on the wagon – but privately, it was a different story. I think that was a large part of my role in their lives for those four months – I was entrusted with the beer and cigarette runs down to the supermarket on the corner of Ventura and Coldwater. It was a Hughes Market in those days – it’s changed since. One evening, or should I say morning – it was about 2:30 AM – Ed asked me to do a run, and I protested, saying that I wasn’t comfortable going on my own at that time – so he sighed, and said, ‘ok, I’ll come with you’. I couldn’t believe that he was actually going to do it – but Ed was a really kind guy, and he wanted to show me what was truly going on, I guess. I mean, I thought I knew, but … little did I know. We hopped in the car, drove down the road, and went into the empty store. Ed seemed kind of relieved and happy to see no one around, so we were walking around, checking out the snacks and the selections of food items – when suddenly, this guy appeared next to us, with a disposable camera – saying ‘Hey, man – Eddie Van Halen!!! Can I get a photo with you, dude?’ Don’t forget, its 2:30 in the morning … all I can think of is where the hell did this guy come from and how did he recognize Ed in sweat pants, a raincoat and baseball cap? Ed looked at me and winked, and then proceeded to pose good naturedly for the photo, and sign the guy’s arm etc – and within minutes, we were surrounded by people asking for pics and autographs. This was BEFORE cell phones, before cell phone cameras – I have NO idea to this day how this all happened, and happened so fast – we had to pretty much run out of the store to the car to get away from them all. Once in the car, heart racing, feeling an emotional range of anxiety, fear, guilt, and excitement – I glanced at Ed, who was staring out of the windshield as I sped the car up the canyon like a REAL double O 7 – he seemed to be off in some reverie, so I didn’t say anything, I just kept driving. As we pulled up to the studio, he looked at me just before he opened the door – and said quietly, ‘now you know why I don’t go to the store very often’. It was a real eye opener for me…. for the first time, I realized how this man, this icon, this rockstar who seemed to be living in a rarefied world of greatness, was actually just a human being, and the world that he had to navigate was a whole lot more isolated and lonely that I could ever have imagined. I don’t mean that he didn’t have close friends and family – of course he did – but his life was very confined and limited – he had to think before he walked out the door every single time – he had no physical freedom. He found his freedom in his craft, and now that he is free of his physical form, he has left that promise for all us through the music he created while he was here. To be continued tomorrow … Thanks for reading! Sorry about all the grammatical errors etc but I’m writing fast and not thinking about the flow. It’s making me feel better to remember all this stuff – sometimes its good to return to old memories. The funny thing about memories is that NO one remembers things the same way, so there’s always that. This is how I remember, though, and I’m glad to share those memories here, with you guys. ????????????
EDDIE’S fingers aren’t fingers they are muscle-powered pistons that hammer guitar strings to the fretboard with the force of a rivet gun”.
