Steve Vai on Eddie van Halen: "He was a gamechanger"

[@michael_caz_nyc]

As phenomenal as EVH was, I've rarely seen a Rock Star have so much Fun on stage. Eddie was always: smiling, laughing and having a good-time. A Van Halen concert, was a Rock and Roll party . . . and his brilliant virtuoso-guitar-playing was "Effortless" R.I.P. = Legend.

[@rv6205]

Just yesterday i was having a down day missing Eddie

[@shreddykrueger3776]

Also high as a kite

[@ronnie_5150]

@@rv6205 So true, brother. I have no problem admitting it was the first time in my life I had openly wept over the passing of someone I did not know personally, or ever met.

[@HONORYOUROATH]

Steve Vai is so humble and the ability to praise his contemporaries flows out of him so easily.

[@dyerseve45]

He is a class act.

[@tonypoore440]

@@dyerseve45 And definitely top 10 material, along with Eddie, Jimi, David, Eric, BB, Jeff, Jimmy, EJ, and Stevie. All very unique and copied.

[@bikerrider4845]

Ehh, my buddy Jack Butler can out shred Steve (just don't tell 'em please)

[@yepper1165]

@@tonypoore440 I would add Satriani to the list.

[@rancantrell]

@@dyerseve45 Yes he is and Ritchie Blackmore is not.

[@oig40203]

i still remember an interview with Vai when he went out on tour with DLR. He was asked what it was like to follow EVH. He said, "Ed is a very inspiring guitar player. He certainly inspires me". With that classy answer I became an instant Steve Vai fan because not only was he a guitar monster, but he didn't disparage my guitar hero.

[@marcelomorem]

I love when a giant like Steve talks about Eddie. He is so precise to define, explain and dimension what Van Halen was, is and will always be. Thank you, Steve.

[@milehighgimpster]

I remember all the animosity I had towards DLR and SV back when Van Halen split up. I compared every guitarist to EVH and none of them were as good (in my uninformed opinion). After all.....Van Halen was my favorite band! Well I'm much older now and still just as uninformed but.....I realize.... bands tend to split up once in a while. EVH is still my all time favorite guitarist but I appreciate all the others as well. Like Steve Vai, Richie Blackmore, Yngwie, Randy Rhoads et al. Steve Vai is a class act.

[@mtbiker4life918]

I've been to 100s of shows. Every solo Eddie did to any song the crowd would cheer, chant "Eddie " and then you could hear a pin drop as he played. No other musician got that respect...ever.

[@Busyfingers24]

Truth🤘

[@RonTimmonsM1]

Especially bar bands 🤣

[@craigharrison5406]

100% i went to a show in '91 and I took the train into the city. The train was full of people screaming "Eddie Eddie" and they were yanking on the hand railings and literally shaking the train. Alice in Chains opened and walked off the stage pissed about 20 minutes into their set because all you could hear is Eddie Eddie!

[@ryanriley181]

@@craigharrison5406 that's hilarious

[@mtbiker4life918]

@@craigharrison5406 I remember that tour, same thing happened during Alice.

[@funkster007]

As a teen in the 80's, I would just stare at Eddie's guitars in guitar mags and album sleeves, while listening to their first few albums. I was literally hooked, and no doubt EVH is a huge inspiration for me getting into guitar playing. The striped frankenstrat and Shark Destroyer still makes me drool after all these years. RIP King Edward!

[@Arcturian1111]

King Eddies Tone came from his hands, attack, and his whole energy field. The amp just elevated his sound. The whole key was Eddies hands, sort of like ones unique fingerprint.

[@eddiejr9169]

EXACTLY. TWO HANDS ONE HEART

[@HONORYOUROATH]

Ed’s heart and since of humor flowed through his hands into his instrument then into our ears.

[@defenderofthefaith2914]

Si le mani poi l amplificatore la chitarra e il six band equalizer mxr

[@walterevans2118]

Steve is RIGHT to emphasize EVH's RHYTHM PLAYING & SOUND as well as his solos...and his TONE.....Ed himself would call it his 'BROWN' sound....Meaning a sound of TONE quality irrespective of where the Db level was...To describe TONAL RESONANCE Ed would say - 'If you hit a piece of CINDERBLOCK it goes''CLANK' which is not pleasing to the ear...But if you hit a log of WOOD it goes -'TOOONK' which IS pleasing to the ear. Ed had a rhythm sound that was BROWN 'Toonk' rather than cinderblock clank even though it was louder than a lot of clanking....& there was an unrestained-ness in his playing yet it was so articulately controlled......An 'Iron Fist in velvet Glove'... Steve puts it so well here 'Free & intense & expansive' was exactly what we ALL felt on hearing Eruption...& the CLARITY & precision with FEEL of his Rhythm playing. On the opening riff of UNCHAINED on Fair Warning Ed'd guitar riff sounds like a 'CLEAR-NOTE ATOMIC REACTOR PURRING' ...When Van Halen went into the studio in 1977 Ted Templeman(Producer) and Don Landee(Engineer) wanted to present Eddie to the world & capture the band's LIVE sound. Ed had this seemingly off hand ability of playing precisional riffs , yet he could unexpectedly go into noodle sound/soloing ideas like moans, harmonic runs, screams or chatter which would surprise an audience as Paganini's violin ideas would....& he would unexpectedly switch from Rhythm to lead without missing a BEAT in the rhythm. & his DYNAMICS were unmatched. Usually, rock bands come in & lay down a blanket of rhythm guitar & solo over it on another track But when Ted first heard ED playing YOU REALLY GOT ME the rhythm/solo switch Dynamics were so surprising & seamless that Ted Templeman just went - 'WHOAA' !!! ...It Doesn't EVEN NEED another Rhythm Guitar under it' !!!...That's how Powerful Ed's rhythmic sensibilities were.... & his abilities to integrate them with soloing was just amazing. Steve had to reproduce some of them for DLR Bands set but Steve had a history of transcribing the works of so many guitarists that he could UNDERSTAND & APPRECIATE all the dynamics Ed created or popularized but was experienced enough to have developed his own style to be able to put his own stamp on it.

[@jamiehoover9348]

🔥💯

[@scottwhite1963]

You need to go to EVH's Isolated Guitar tracks on KZbin. It is unreal how good he was at Rythm.

[@walterevans2118]

@@scottwhite1963 ABSOLUTELY Scott ...I've done precisely that....His spontaneous riff/noodle improvisations without missing a beat are just ASTONISHING....Like on BEAUTIFUL GIRLS isolated Guitar track.... In Sunset Sound that was a ONE TAKE job....The way his fast riffing in I'M THE ONE just SWINGS in its rhythm like his Father Jan's Clarinet playing....The Crisp Tightness of UNCHAINED ...I used to work out/transcribe this stuff from listening to the vinyl LPs but when you hear ED'S Guitar tracks in ISOLATION you get to hear NUANCES & Creative idiosyncrasies which you never even NOTICED in the full vinyl mix !

[@j_freed]

Eddie was always a natural at guitar, extraordinarily so, but 10 times as much a natural capital M Musician… The way that every note sounded and resonated was THE paramount, and none of the flash guitar playing would’ve meant anything to him on its own.

[@walterevans2118]

@@j_freed Yes, he was just an all round , pristine sonic innovator. He was such a natural.....His brother Alex said when Ed first picked up the guitar at the age of 12 he could already play better than other older players who had already been playing for YEARS.

[@stevendavid5370]

Steve expressed Eddie's playing so amazingly accurate that you need to replay this video and listen intently to the words of the description and understand the meaning of each word to comprehend the amazing nature of what Eddie did with his guitar. I would only add this, that it was absolute perfection absolutely. Miss EVH a lot. Rest In Peace my brother!!

[@davywaddell5332]

Really eloquently expressed

[@pearlstream6465]

to think he improvised this solo in one take is completely insane

[@my3pups153]

That was one of the most articulate descriptions of Edward’s impact on music. Steve , you have been a blessing to us all in many ways. Thank you 😊

[@MrPercussionPete]

EVH was a guitar genius in every possible way... Never seen a musician who was so totally in control of his instrument. There wasn't anything he couldn't play. And his sound was absolutely one of a kind. Just think of it... To create a sound that the whole world refers to as the EVH sound. What a legacy...

[@paulsharkey6673]

Ed's tone was incredible. I was around 12 when the first album came out. I was already playing guitar for 4 years. I played stuff like Skynard, The Eagles, Sabbath, Aerosmith and such. All great stuff, but when I heard Eddie for the first time nothing could compare. He blew me away. The same thing happened when Randy Rhoads came out. Especially Diary of a Madman.

[@mikeg.9238]

Same here , born in 66. I was already listening to Kiss , Sabbath , Nugent , AC/DC etc. But when the first VH album came out it was game over. I was hooked and played the albums and then cassettes to death , lost interest after Dave left. His first 2 albums with Vai sounded more like VH than VH did with Hagar , i liked Sammy's solo stuff better. Didn't like the direction they went with him , didn't have the same edge and raw sound IMO! PS Diary was and still is my favorite Ozzy album , their were good song's on Blizzard but Diary was a masterpiece. I'm also bias though , because that tour was my first concert. We had 16th row on the floor and rushed the stage when Ozzy came on and got to the front , i think we paid like $16 for a ticket. Probably one of the best concerts iv'e ever seen and iv'e been to 100's.....

[@Arcturian1111]

I agree...

[@mrisaac638]

word

[@tonypoore440]

@@mikeg.9238 Bark at the Moon was my first concert, the beautiful guitar sound hooked me. Jake E. Lee wasn't Randy, but he was a special player in his own way, very expressive.

[@mikeg.9238]

@@tonypoore440 I agree , loved Jake. Wish he lasted longer than just 2 albums. He was also great when he was with Badland's , those first 2 were amazing albums! If you never seen him at the US festival you should check out his incredible solo , i think it was in 85'!

[@gwgwgwgw1854]

There was a certain fullness, an intensity, a power, (I don't know what to call it) in EVH's playing... It was like he was packing the most possible beauty into every note, every phrase, every song. I'm not even a rock guitar player (I am more bluesy and a little bit of jazz) but he electrified me (NPI) with the kind of high-voltage brilliance that is extremely rare.~

[@walterevans2118]

yes

[@TANTRUMGASM]

Edward Van Halen, without question, is , and will always be, the Most popular and Influential guitarist in History.

[@kellywilson8440]

When Steve Vai praises another player you know how special and gifted he really was , RIP EVH !

[@RobertMJohnson]

if you're too young to have experienced HAVING TO HEAR early Van Halen on LPs, you have no idea what you missed. that era was amazing for us youngsters. hearing those songs for the first time on the turntable. unreal.

[@mikeg.9238]

You're 100% correct brother , i think i was 12 when VH dropped their first album and was blown away. I must have played that album 100x at least. Hearing Eruption firmly pushed me in the hard rock/heavy metal direction , same as hearing Nugent's Cat scratch fever album. I think i had a Kiss album also , it was Kiss Alive. The rest is history , but VH played a huge part , the first 3 albums were insane and that was when you could just let the album play because their were no bad song's....

[@alexanderbrown4250]

@@mikeg.9238 Just found my copy of Double Live Gonzo.... When I was a kid, Ted was a guitar god and not yet a right wing nut job. I remember reading an interview circa 1978 where he talked about copulating with the liver of a freshly killed moose... Anyway, there were usually 3 good songs on a Nugent album. 4 good songs on an Aerosmith album. The rest was shyte filler. VH all good

[@lawncuttingplusdelta]

Eddie was def my hero on rhythm … I’m 55 …. When I heard z” hear about it later “ live 81 ….. I was .hooked. !!!!

[@vernmcfly670]

Eddie was melodic with his playing. So important. His stuff “went somewhere”. You can hear fast crazy speed playing from others and then hear Eddie’s and it’s different. Like Sammy Hagar said, “Eddie is funky!”

[@Swanlord05]

That is the Key he was Heavy but Melodic.... Very upbeat guitarist but had aggression and rage in his playing

[@johnmoser2689]

I really like the way Steve described Edward He was a game changer and so was Steven so expressive and in tune with his instrument it's Awe inspiring

[@DreidMusicalX]

Eddie and all of you were amazing that created a generation of music taking it to the next levels. I'm just happy I grew up in that part of this country's history. You made life more enjoyable for many.

[@cato451]

Yup. Eddie was a game changer. I was 15 in 1978 when the first VH album was released. It was explosive.

[@paulc9434]

Thanks Stevie. Great take on Ed’s gift to us all. Miss ya Eddie. The WORLD misses you Eddie!!

[@imtheonevanhalen1557]

My brother had this incredible high-end audio system....Harmon Kardon dual power amps, the entire bit. I used to go to his place and listen to the new music coming out (he was a guitar player from the early sixties...) A cat showed up with VH1 one night, and I was in complete sonic shock....the hair on my arms stood when Aint Talkin Bout Love started......it was so percussive and like nothing anyone had ever heard......I could not un-hear it after that night. I'd go home and play to FM as things came up (Heart's Roger Fisher was the bad-ass back then....).....and I'd call the station to request VH.....usual response was "Who?"...early '78 in North Carolina. If you play rock guitar, do this once before you die....get a good set of headphones (not earbud junk...) and listen to VH1....it's stunning. Eruption was a wow moment, but that's just the teaser.....listen to the depth of the reverb on Aint Talkin.....it is unreal Not to take anything away from Eddie's genius.....but listen also to the crud from the Gene Simmons tapes. Ted Templeman and Don Landee captured the essence of a rock guitar god who had no clue he'd found the next paradigm shift....a jump no one knew existed. From a poor little drunk dutch boy in need of a PA system.....truth truly is stranger than fiction.

[@OscarGonzalez-gw1mh]

It's great to hear how much of an impact EVH had on his peers. At 50 years of age, I've been a VH fan since grade school and have always enjoyed their music and attended as many concerts as I could. I can honestly say I miss EVH but am glad he left us with such great music for us all to enjoy. The original line up with DLR was untouchable!

[@Johnny-oy9fh]

I'd already been playing guitar for six years when van Halen one came out...I was 15...blew my mind...and changed things forever!!!

[@peterwinters8587]

The first time I heard of Steve Vai was his transcription of Eruption in Guitar Player - early 80's. Since then I've met him - great guy.

[@Marshall-uy2dv]

Coming from a game-changer like Steve Vai is the highest compliment! His knowledge of music is staggering!The first time I heard the album flexible and he's playing the guitar like it was talking, some of the most impressive guitar playing ever recorded! And those fingers my God, yep he was born to play!

[@elixtido1448]

I'm glad to hear that it also floored Steve via as well as every other guitar player pretty much on the planet. We all had Jimmy Page and Richie Blackmore solo's down easy as well as nugent et cetera but he comes along and we can't touch it

[@64north20west]

Steve Vai's humble attitude is as jaw dropping as his guitar playing.

[@brucewood6126]

I hear that!!! MEAN STREETS, LIGHT UP THE SKY,, and ROMEO DELIGHT

[@23ograin53]

"It wasn't just the tapping . . ." THANK YOU Steve. I think it's unfortunate the way it seems most people focus on Eddie's tapping when what he was doing was so much deeper than that, especially early on. The beauty of it is that no matter how technical it was, he was really just playing guitar! I don't think he was intentionally "shredding".

[@galarius]

You too Steve, the best two performing shredders ever having a great time while you are playing

[@SteveJones379]

Steve Via is a class act. Good person. Peace

[@vanhenry98]

Still to this day l cannot get over ED'S rhythm playing on tracks like ( on fire ) (atomic punk) (,light up the sky ) hell theres so many ,THANK YOU EDDIE for bringing musical enjoyment into my life ,R.I.P

[@rocksteady6448]

Mr via is correct Eddie was special in everything he did he touched us all with his music ,not only that but guitars he built and the amps he designed are awesome he was pure genius

[@tonysimmons5729]

Vai is spot on. The bands tunes and songwriting stood the test of time because of Ed’s genius. EVEN though VH had huge hits and success, Stevie Wonder said of Ed that “Eddie could have been a modern day Cole Porter if he hadn’t wasted his talent drinking”. Thats both sad and a HUGE compliment. Eddie was hearing way past what a VH song represented. You could hear it in his rhythm and lead playing. Brilliant. RIP EVH

[@MetalKillsRap2]

Love hearing all you guys stories of hearing VH1 when it came out! I’m jealous! I first discovered VH when the Balance album came out. I was 13 when that album came out. I remember hearing Don’t Tell Me (What Love Can Do). His tone on that album and his playing was like anything I’d ever heard. Obviously I bought that album and was floored! Then I thought, I wanna start from the beginning and buy all their albums. So I went and bought VH1. I thought man this is old, and who’s the singer? This isn’t Hagar lol. Learned a bit of history from my Dad about the band. Dude, when Eruption hit, my jaw dropped!! This was in ‘95!! To know that Eddie was playing and getting that sound back in ‘78 was mind boggling. My Dad has played guitar since before I was born and I grew up listening to him play and was always around it. I got interested when I was 12. I got frustrated with it and quit for awhile and just focused on sports. I picked it up again right before I got into VH and a few months later that’s when I got into them. After that, I knew I wanted to try and make a guitar sound like that!!! I’m 40 now and still playing and loving it to this day because of my Dad and Eddie. In the end, I can do a few things Eddie has done but I sound like me and I love that about guitar playing. We can all play the same riff, same lead, same lick, and we all sound like ourselves with a little bit of our influences splashed in there!! The music of VH (both eras, and yes, even moments of the VH III era) has changed my life and given me the gift of music. Thank you Dad and Eddie for inspiring me to pickup the guitar!!

[@andybaldman]

Funny how so many young people seem to like the balance album, from comments I’ve read online. But old-school Van Halen fans don’t even really count it as a VH album.

[@majesticpbjcat7707]

Balance is the best sounding Van Halen record from a production standpoint. It's absolutely huge sounding!

[@vancedean9699]

This very well could be the best explanation of Eddie’s playing that I have ever heard. Steve Vai is a class act.

[@robertdiehl1281]

…when he first came out we could not figure out what he was doing…in that we were not even sure he was playing a guitar lol. Fortunately a friend who lived in Pasadena saw Van Halen in someone’s garage doing cover songs etc. He told us flat out it was a guitar. Great video dude

[@donkost]

Yes exactly- when I heard the first album in ‘78 I was convinced the tapping part of Eruption was synth. I began playing guitar in ‘76. Saw them open for Sabbath in Philly. Right after the show I went home and tried this touching the strings with my right hand that I had seen. Granted I had crappy seats on the other side of the arena. Could not do it! I got no sound from the string. Learned somewhere down the road I had to flick the string in order to get the notes to sound. lol

[@CitizenSoldier500]

That was as good of a description as i have heard of eddies style which is quite hard to describe. Eddie heard music differently than anyone else and he spoke it with the guitar. R.I.P EVH king of 10 fingers and 6 strings

[@ROOKTABULA]

I stood and talked to Steve briefly and recall him putting his hand on my shoulder and telling me to "stick with it, you've got it in you". Seems like yesterday but also an eternity ago but it was 2015.

[@user-sn3cs2hd8r]

To understand his greatness is to see the entire picture. He had it all and the one word Steve didn’t say was Confidence or intention. He played with a direct intention and that intention was crystal clear to him. We were all just trying to catch up.

[@mck7646]

Always a pleasure to hear Steve, and I look forward to hearing his new album.

[@anitarobinson9501]

I love Steve Vai. He's the perfect person to talk about the greatness of King Edward. RIP Eddie

[@landosazo7506]

ONE OF A KIND ...EDWARD...AN ENERGY THAT SEEPED INTO THIS WORLD AND GAVE US SOME OF THE BEST MUSICAL COMPOSITIONS

[@TMoody]

I remember getting Van Halen 1 Lp record for Christmas and a box of chocolate mints from Santa Claus as an 10 year old kid. I put on that album and ate those mints while studying that album cover while listening to the music .... my life changed that day and I knew right then there what I was going to do for the rest of my life.

[@walterevans2118]

Interesting ....Edward's guitar sonic debut to your ears as a MINTY experience .......lol

[@walterevans2118]

For me my Debut hearing VH 1 & Ed's guitar was in Aug 1978 in Swansea , South Wales at a relatives house. I was just 15.... I'd bought the LP after hearing people enthuse about it & after hearing VH had blown Sabbath offstage in the UK months earlier....I put the vinyl on the turntable & in their lounge in pitch darkness I listened to it on Sony HI FI & headphones turned RIGHT UP .....OMG !!!!!! .....I had heard about ERUPTION from someone who lived up the road from me in E/B ......Just before putting it on I was thinking naively - 'This Edward Van Halen guy sounds like a bloody good guitarist but he SURELY can't be as good at Ted Nugent whose recording of 'Survival of the Fittest Live' I'd bought here last year....💣💣💣💣💥💥💥💥❤‍🩹❤‍🩹OMGGGG How WRONG I WAS !!!!😲😲😲😲😯😯😯😳😳😳😧😧😮😮😱😱....I THOUGHT I'D BEEN HIT BY A DIESEL OR A GREYHOUND BUS .....Ed had RE-DEFINED the parameters of the instrument in 1 MINUTE 40 Seconds FLAT.... The impact could have been measured on the RICHTER SCALE .....lol.....❤❤...Within ONE YEAR I went up to Finsbury Park in London & I was seeing VH LIVE on their VH2 World Tour to promote their follow up album.

[@alexanderbrown4250]

@@walterevans2118 Same experience. Nugent was my god until I heard EVH. I was in 10th grade when VH1 came out. I felt lost, tho, because I could emulate Ted and Joe Perry and my other heros.

[@walterevans2118]

@@alexanderbrown4250 Yes, Ted Nugent then assumed Ed's sound originality was in his equipment..... in soundcheck he plugged in but it still sounded like Ted. Ed's sound was in his playing innovations, his fingers & his brain. Joe Perry wouldn't shake Ed's hand at first which Ed was very hurt by. But they got on much better terms later on in their careers.

[@pthompson108]

Thanks for sharing that mate. I love hearing how some of my favourite musos are fans of some of my other favourite musos.

[@SunshineStateofMind1981]

A class act tribute to EVH, very honest and respectful. I like Steve Vai for being such a great human being.

[@F1Slunk]

Very respectful. Good guy that Steve Vai.

[@briankelly2337]

great interview....thanks

[@rolindadice]

One great guitar player paying respect to another. It’s good to see that 😊

[@Hary_music]

EVH his mother from Indonesia 🇮🇩🇮🇩🇮🇩🤘🤘🤘😎

[@robert6907]

What a great tribute, from someone who is very much a legend himself. Amazing player, great guy.

[@JazzgutsVGvanKampen]

It takes a humble man with great insight to praise his contempories this way. So he did with Ritchy Blackmore, a long life to you.

[@dougputhoff3215]

Thanks Steve, those words mean a lot….you are a class act Pal!

[@silverjaw138]

I love Steve, he’s such a good dude.

[@marcjamesjamos]

Beautiful tribut!

[@drzecelectric4302]

Nailed it.

[@NeilTurnbull007]

This is an excellent description of Eddie's playing .

[@OlemirCandido]

Eruption is always very chocant for all guitarist \o/ Thank you EVH.

[@daviclar867]

Steve is a virtuoso, Eddie was a phenomenal.

[@donDonau]

Eddie is phenomenal virtuoso.

[@misterschubert3242]

I am gaining more respect for Vai with every interview I see. He is knowledgeable, passionate, and well-spoken. As for Van Halen being a game changer, that's an understatement. For me, Eddie was like Michael Jordan. He was the absolute best at what he did, so good that he made it seem effortless...and unfortunately it inspired legions of hacks, who didn't/don't understand the fundamentals, the theory, the nature of the notes and how to use the nuances of each instrument he played, and turned tapping and sweeps/speed runs into rote exercises rather than true musical expressions. The NBA and rock music have suffered ever since...

[@valuedhumanoid6574]

I was at my GF's house and listened to Fair Warning for the first time. Her mother was a piano teacher and when we heard the opening riff of Mean Street I didn't know what that sound was. So I asked her mother and she listened and said "oh...that's a glockenspiel" What? I didn't even know what that was. So I pulled out my Encyclopedia Britannica book and looked it up. Damn, Eddie plays the glockenspiel too! Is there no end to this man's talent? So I went to school armed with this new information and spread it like a virus. All my friends were shocked that Eddie played a glockenspiel. It wasn't until we saw the video on MTV that we realized it was just a madman genius innovator doing it on a guitar like no one had done before. But the damage was done. I was razzed and raked over the coals for spreading that bullshit of the glockenspiel. I'd be walking down the hallway at school and all the sudden I would hear "hey, where's your glockenspiel?" or some other form of harassments. Moral of the story: Make sure you know what you're talking about before proclaiming it to be real.

[@mandiferrer]

Steve Vai was one of the very first who accurately transcribed "Eruption" on score & tablature during the late 70s-early 80s.

[@erictripton]

I was 12 When I heard VH 1.... the zeppelin records went immediately to the back of the album rack. His sound is what got me, plus the aggressive feeling of his overall playing driving that sound. I use Plexi style amps because of his sound.

[@jeffs4760]

Much respect to you Steve! Your music with Whitesnake was exceptional too!

[@joeyracano1]

Stevie Vai is a great man as well as a transcendent musician.

[@juanpablomarin5463]

Eddie Van Halen our greatest innovator!

[@alanthorne3921]

My first job was working in a record shop not long after the first VH album came out.I remember hearing Éuption for the first time and being gobsmacked.There was nothing repeat nothing like that at that time.Michael Schenker had a great soloing and tone on UFO's Obsession album as well.Suddenly all yesterday's guitar heroes sounded dull.

[@marcblum5348]

Pat Metheny once mentioned that after Eddie everyone sounded like Eddie, even Steve Vai, and that there was no one ever later on having that kind of impact. It's like "Saxophone before/after Charlie Parker", it's "Rockguitar before/after EVH".

[@RonTimmonsM1]

I love love love love Van Halen. That's all I got to say bout that. 💯

[@metatron333ascension]

Eddie was another level. Back then and even now.

[@josem2558]

Desde Spain. EDDIE fue el rock genius como Paco de Lucia al Flamenco. Luego vinieron más casi a su vez pero el le puso feling. Steve Vai is the genio the 6 strings EVOLUCION.TOP.

[@jeffreyhogan7298]

Steve is a great player in his own right!💯

[@Johnny-oy9fh]

Ed was one of the greatest rythm guitarists I've ever heard...period...

[@VangeliRock]

"The Rock and Roll Attitude in the guitar parts" - yep, accurate description. EVH had the attitude, the Rock N Roll Attitude.

[@majorlee1]

Steve is just such a cool down to earth dude! 👍😎

[@comfortablynumb9342]

Steve is so humble. In my opinion he's far better than EVH, yet very respectful and he gives Eddy the credit he deserves. I loved "The Audience Is Listening" and the straight poke at Ed yet he's not ugly about Eddy. Very cool.

[@georgezervos5305]

🙏🙏🙏💯💯💯 Amen Steve , great words brotha...God bless you man...

[@garyrouleau4676]

Free sounding! True words!

[@TheMeJustMe75]

Steve and Joe Satriani were also a huge influence on the guitar, the tone and sounds that came out of the amp (pinch harmonics and whammy bar squeals). He's right about Eddie. I was 9 when I heard the album 1984. I was automatically hooked on the electric guitar but it wouldn't be until I was 13 when I started learning how to play the guitar.

[@frankstein5967]

A lot of younger people today may not recall how guitar solos were being disparaged as "self indulgence" in the late 70s. Disco was big and guitar stars like Steve Miller were making hit records without any solos. Eddie may have saved guitar, saved rock, and saved lead solos. Spectacular.

[@juniordaddyman]

Steve Vai is a class act!! He stepped into an unenviable position playing with DLR and he played masterfully!! Steve, I appreciate your humility and your skills!! Thanks for blessing us with your music!!!

[@jerrymyers1798]

Spot on

[@TheAgentAssassin]

Back then we were all watching leave it to beaver and listening to hee haw and r&b , etc. Ed's arrival was like an alien from outer space had landed. Totally different sound and world to the ear.

[@louiesalinas4720]

love ya Steve!!!

[@jeffroach3722]

much respect ☮

[@caryverhalen]

Well said by another pioneer. 👏

[@lordcerberus4894]

I'm glad to hear this. I still have bitter feelings on Vai Emulating EVH's sound and style ( identically) when Roth went out on his own. I always wondered if that was Roth's doing, or Vai's.

[@ritarollins6664]

I’m still bitter about that too. For me Vai will always be a copycat.

[@moabmoron8607]

Hand on heart.

[@michaelfinley4440]

Eddies sense of rhythm and his explosive energy was the heart of his playing. not the tap stuff although groundbreaking at the time

[@d-mack7053]

@SteveVai Me and you have met and I've met Nuno Bettencourt many a time and he has always said the tone is in your fingertips. He told me he finally got play through Eddie's rig and didn't sound like Eddie!!! He said "Very Disappointing"!!! But at the same point Nuno SERIOUSLY created something himself!!!

[@FrankRizzo7080]

From one great expressing his thoughts on another great! EVH is my favorite, but Vai And R.R are a close second!

[@rrf6747]

Nevermind eddie van Halen Steve your a legend too and one of the greats in your own right

[@ozric-tf2kb]

“He (EVH) sure as hell kicked my ass into shape!” - Nuno Bettencourt

[@thefog7067]

Eddie tore up the rule book and rewrote it thus creating a new style all his own and it changed the face of the earth. He really did raise the bar so high and set the standard for rock guitar in the late 70s and 80s. Practically every rock guitarist in the 80s was an Eddie wannabe. Many have tried to emulate him but there's only one Edward Van Halen

[@rossmarlin4947]

He's giving love to the greatest guitar player of all time

[@DrunkenRhinoceros]

Eddie mastered swing

[@audieconrad8995]

Eddie's tone was in part that when he had his guitar in hand he was ALWAYS smiling. That in itself would SET the tone...

[@ckmoore101]

As silly as it sounds, EVH is underrated (generally speaking). Most people think he was this shredding/tapping guitar god. But to those that know, realize he did amazing things in solo's, but he really was a rhythm genius. Sure his tapping was great, but those riffs.... and then you have the 3rd level of appreciation, that most don't realize. The endless search for the "tone". Short of the absolute literal genius of Tom Scholz and his tonal electrical inventions, Eddie was a mad scientist, changing capacitors, adjusting input voltage well beyond ratings, and mavericking the shit out of hardware, to get the tone he wanted. And boy did he. Arguably the most sublime tone ever... the brown sound. Many have reverse engineered it to replicate it now, but it was revolutionary back then. Long live the King. To get an idea of it, check out Pete Thorns brown sound video. Dude deserves a grammy for the work he and Friedman did to replicate it perfectly.