RIP EVH

Eddie Van Halen, guitar legend, died of cancer, age 65.

He had been battling throat cancer for years. He blamed it on the metal pick he sometimes held in his mouth, not his heavy smoking.

The man has his own chapter in the Book of Great Guitarists.
He did not invent, but popularized the use of finger tapping, where the player taps the strings on the fretboard, instead of using a pick.

Stop for a second and think about this.... your first love is music. You work hard and succeed beyond your wildest dreams. You are now rich and famous, doing what you love most. As if that weren't enough, your fans are positively rabid. Lastly, and largely, you become a certified Guitar God. You may not feel like one, but you've just joined the company of Jimi Hendrix, Jimmy Page, Jeff Beck, and others at the top of the guitar mountain. He seemed to get his head through the door without difficulty. Can you imagine a better life? In 100 years, his name will still be popular for his contributions.

His tone was legendary, as were the tons of stories about what he did to his Marshall amp to get those tones. My research showed a small diode or 2 across an aftermarket master volume control. Eddie's name appeared on his own line of guitar amps, guitars, and accessories. Tip: buying his equipment ain't gonna make you sound like him, anymore than buying that makeup is going to make you look like that model on the cover of the magazine.

First album was in 1978 and there was no looking back. Album and huge video success too, in my mind, due to made-for-video frontman, David Lee Roth. Singers changed, there were vacations, and finally, his son Wolfgang joined on bass.


I wasn't a die-hard fan; I enjoyed the music, his playing, and his tone for what they were. No denying his legendary status. One of the greatest things to watch was the way he smiled and how jazzed he was to be doing his thing.  Sometimes I wonder what I want to be and do when (if) I grow up. It will involve my guitar and that kind of happiness (just not so much fame).


The man lived a dream.


Play on



Additionally,
RIP Peter Fonda, 79, from lung cancer.