Eddie Van Halen “I've tried to avoid playing like Eddie. I've never learned the songs on purpose so I didn't steal anything. Then I had to learn the songs – I was like, ‘This is gonna be torture’”: Joe Satriani on his preparations for this summer's Van Halen tribute tour Satch is intensely studying the intricacies of the late guitar hero's technical quirks and tone, while trying to avoid outright mimicry. The fine line between paying tribute and copying is an act of needle-threading the virtuoso says he also faced during his tenure in Deep Purple “Eddie Van Halen had me play his 5150 guitar, and then he asked me to show the solo to him, because he’d forgotten it”: Jennifer Batten recalls re-teaching EVH the Beat It solo “Not the most relaxed situation for me,” the former Michael Jackson guitarist told GP in a 1989 interview "I showed Eddie Van Halen some of what I had to learn in order to pull off Frank’s music... Eddie said, 'Who would've thought that you'd be giving me a guitar lesson!': How Dweezil Zappa took EVH inside his father's playing, and left him in awe In this vintage GP interview, Dweezil also reflected on the idiosyncratic nature of his father's soloing, and how the elder Zappa worked around his technical limitations Latest Eddie Van Halen "I was playing an ES-335 before we got signed, but the guys said, 'Come on, you look like Roy Orbison' – this little punk kid playing a Ted Nugent axe": Why Eddie Van Halen left Gibson's famed semi-hollow behind, and how he would've built his ideal ES-335 By Jackson Maxwell published 10 January 24 "When I pick up a stock 335, you probably wouldn't even recognize my playing," the late guitar legend told GP in this classic interview Eddie Van Halen soloing on I Fought The Law, joined by John Mellencamp, Bryan Adams, Richie Sambora, Sheryl Crow, Melissa Etheridge and more? Watch “the greatest garage band ever assembled”... By Jonathan Graham published 23 November 23 "The show that was never supposed to be seen." Watch an all-star lineup perform classics by The Rolling Stones, The Beatles and more in this little-seen show from 1996 “First of All, There Was No Guitar Player Who Had Ever Played Like That”: Van Halen Producer Ted Templeman Tells ‘GP’ How It All Began By Ken Sharp published 28 September 23 Van Halen might not have been the same group without Ted Templeman, the man who discovered and signed them, then produced their greatest albums “I Kind of Stole Ed...And That Wasn’t Something That Happened Very Often”: Brian May Expounds on Eddie Van Halen’s Role in the Fabled ‘Star Fleet Project’ By Gary Graff published 26 September 23 As he releases his expanded ‘Star Fleet Project’ box set, the guitarist reveals his thoughts on EVH, the future of Queen, and the dangers AI poses for music in the coming year “I’d Never Heard Anything That Brilliant, and Ed Said, ‘No, It’s Nothing’”: Producer Ted Templeman Reveals How He Helped Turn Eddie Van Halen’s “Warm Up” Into One of the Greatest Solos of All Time, “Eruption” By Ken Sharp published 1 September 23 “He said, ‘It’s just something I warm up with before each show.' And I said, ‘Donn, roll tape!’” recalls the hitmaker “I Think We Might Look Back on 2023 as the Last Year When Humans Really Dominated the Music Scene”: Brian May Shares His Hopes and Fears About the Impact of AI By Gary Graff published 31 August 23 Having been involved with artificial intelligence in his scientific pursuits, the astrophysicist and Queen guitarist has some unique insights that may shock you “Led Zeppelin? Not Something We Grew up Listening to”: Jake Kiszka Talks Hot Gear, Vintage Tone, and What Everyone Gets Wrong About His 1970s Hard-Rock Renaissance By Joe Bosso published 22 August 23 “To be considered a guitar hero for my generation is a lifetime achievement,” says the Greta Van Fleet guitarist “If You Try to Make Things Too Perfect, You’ll Start Killing the Feel”: Vinnie Moore Talks Recording Guitars and His Genre-Spanning New Solo Album, ‘Double Exposure’ By Jude Gold published 22 August 23 “The more time you spend on something, the more you get drawn into that vortex of overanalyzing,” says the UFO axeman and solo artist, “and then you’ll fix something that doesn’t need to be fixed.” How to Tap Like Eddie Van Halen By Dale Turner published 9 August 23 Learn EVH's astonishing tapping techniques including slides, bends, harmonics and more Van Halen's ‘The Collection II’ Box Set Announced. Watch the Newly Remastered “Humans Being” Video Here By Rod Brakes published 9 August 23 Video The long-awaited sequel to Van Halen’s David Lee Roth era ‘The Collection’ contains four number-one Sammy Hagar era albums and a disc of rarities Video 123456789Archives Get The Pick NewsletterAll the latest guitar news, interviews, lessons, reviews, deals and more, direct to your inbox!Contact me with news and offers from other Future brandsReceive email from us on behalf of our trusted partners or sponsors MOST READ1PRS SE CE24, SE Custom 24 Quilt and SE Swamp Ash Special review 2How a deeply personal twist of events brought a beloved 'Burst into Vince Gill's life3How Noel Gallagher and Beck helped bring the Black Keys' latest funky full-length, Ohio Players, to life4Best amp modelers 2024: Get your dream guitar tone with our top picks5Best overdrive pedals 2024: Strap in, it's time to drive
"I was playing an ES-335 before we got signed, but the guys said, 'Come on, you look like Roy Orbison' – this little punk kid playing a Ted Nugent axe": Why Eddie Van Halen left Gibson's famed semi-hollow behind, and how he would've built his ideal ES-335 By Jackson Maxwell published 10 January 24 "When I pick up a stock 335, you probably wouldn't even recognize my playing," the late guitar legend told GP in this classic interview
Eddie Van Halen soloing on I Fought The Law, joined by John Mellencamp, Bryan Adams, Richie Sambora, Sheryl Crow, Melissa Etheridge and more? Watch “the greatest garage band ever assembled”... By Jonathan Graham published 23 November 23 "The show that was never supposed to be seen." Watch an all-star lineup perform classics by The Rolling Stones, The Beatles and more in this little-seen show from 1996
“First of All, There Was No Guitar Player Who Had Ever Played Like That”: Van Halen Producer Ted Templeman Tells ‘GP’ How It All Began By Ken Sharp published 28 September 23 Van Halen might not have been the same group without Ted Templeman, the man who discovered and signed them, then produced their greatest albums
“I Kind of Stole Ed...And That Wasn’t Something That Happened Very Often”: Brian May Expounds on Eddie Van Halen’s Role in the Fabled ‘Star Fleet Project’ By Gary Graff published 26 September 23 As he releases his expanded ‘Star Fleet Project’ box set, the guitarist reveals his thoughts on EVH, the future of Queen, and the dangers AI poses for music in the coming year
“I’d Never Heard Anything That Brilliant, and Ed Said, ‘No, It’s Nothing’”: Producer Ted Templeman Reveals How He Helped Turn Eddie Van Halen’s “Warm Up” Into One of the Greatest Solos of All Time, “Eruption” By Ken Sharp published 1 September 23 “He said, ‘It’s just something I warm up with before each show.' And I said, ‘Donn, roll tape!’” recalls the hitmaker
“I Think We Might Look Back on 2023 as the Last Year When Humans Really Dominated the Music Scene”: Brian May Shares His Hopes and Fears About the Impact of AI By Gary Graff published 31 August 23 Having been involved with artificial intelligence in his scientific pursuits, the astrophysicist and Queen guitarist has some unique insights that may shock you
“Led Zeppelin? Not Something We Grew up Listening to”: Jake Kiszka Talks Hot Gear, Vintage Tone, and What Everyone Gets Wrong About His 1970s Hard-Rock Renaissance By Joe Bosso published 22 August 23 “To be considered a guitar hero for my generation is a lifetime achievement,” says the Greta Van Fleet guitarist
“If You Try to Make Things Too Perfect, You’ll Start Killing the Feel”: Vinnie Moore Talks Recording Guitars and His Genre-Spanning New Solo Album, ‘Double Exposure’ By Jude Gold published 22 August 23 “The more time you spend on something, the more you get drawn into that vortex of overanalyzing,” says the UFO axeman and solo artist, “and then you’ll fix something that doesn’t need to be fixed.”
How to Tap Like Eddie Van Halen By Dale Turner published 9 August 23 Learn EVH's astonishing tapping techniques including slides, bends, harmonics and more
Van Halen's ‘The Collection II’ Box Set Announced. Watch the Newly Remastered “Humans Being” Video Here By Rod Brakes published 9 August 23 Video The long-awaited sequel to Van Halen’s David Lee Roth era ‘The Collection’ contains four number-one Sammy Hagar era albums and a disc of rarities