Van Halen was signed at The Starwood by Ted Templeman, Doug Messenger claims to have made the call.
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- Опубліковано 10 чер 2024
- Get ready for a journey through the life of legendary music producer and Van Morrison guitarist Doug Messenger! Not only did he have a front-row seat to the rise of Van Halen, but he was also friends with none other than Eddie Van Halen himself. In an exclusive interview held in Studio 2 at Sunset Sound, Doug shares some of his incredible stories, including the night he made a call to Warner Brothers urging them to check out Eddie Van Halen, the famous napkin contract at The Starwood, and many more. Don't miss out on this incredible insider's perspective on the world of music - hit that subscribe button now!
00:00 Bio and playing guitar fro Van Morrison and meeting Ted Templeman
19:00. Van Halen talk starts
Host: Drew Dempsey: / dfdproductions
Sunset Sound Senior Engineer Geoff Neal: / geoffbneal
Filmed by Abel Padilla
Mario Nakasone
www.dfdproductions.com
Audio: Diego Zevallos
Filmed at Sunset Sound Recorders Studio 2
Instagram: / sunsetsoundrecorders
Facebook: @sunsetsoundrecorders
Website: www.sunsetsound.com
Merchandise: sunset-sound-merchandise.mysh...
This is incredible. The stories about Van Halen are so vividly and lovingly told. But, this interview goes so far beyond that. Around 1:27:00 when he talks about meeting Hendrix again and how he confesses that drugs are ruining his career. That was so moving. That Hendrix would not only remember him years later but have that kind of candid conversation with him is so poignant and bittersweet. Thank you Drew and Geoff for capturing this and especially for just letting Doug talk. He has so much to share. Its so rare to hear stories like these first hand. You guys have contributed to the known history of these amazing artists in a way that is lasting and hopefully will be around a long, long time. So very special!!!!
Yes. The Hendrix stories were so moving.
I'm only 30 minutes in and the stories are blowing me away, Ed, Ted, Van, Ronnie Montrose. It was his Marshall on Rock Candy.
I was 16 years old while impatiently waiting for VHII to be released. Feeling bold one day I dialed up the Warner Bros. corporate office and, to my surprise and great relief, was greeted by a very pleasant sounding secretary. It may have been one of the secretaries at Warners that Doug refers to. A few minutes of friendly chit chat later I was promised a copy of the new record the moment it became available. Van Halen II arrived at my house a week or two before it hit the stores. I'll never forget it.
This guy needs to write a book. His mind is sharp. Just needs someone to keep it focused and organized. Thanks for this.
I agree. I'd buy that book in a heartbeat. Can someone make that happen? : )
I heard Donn Landee is coming in and then the Internet will break from the mindblowing knowledge and stories.
Yeah he has such insane recall he gets caught up in the sidestreets sometimes :)
Yeah he goes off on tangents, just when he’s about to tell us something he spaces out and tells something he already said 15 minutes earlier…oh well still a cool thing…
Agree.
I came for Van Halen & stayed for Doug Messenger. There's so much to appreciate here..., can't even being to express how educational this was and so many places this could go, in regards to history of equipment with demos, comparisons , how-to's , examples ect. Doug & Co. , thank you guys! Doug, Barney Kessel -lord. You are a true treasurer trove that I admire & love to learn from. This is my first vid and I'm looking forward to other deep dives like this. Seriously, I can't express how much I loved this. And I hope (growing up in the early stages of the digital age) that Doug gets a platform to teach the arts and the advantages of molding sounds outside your bedroom.
Doug is like the Forrest Gump of Rock n Roll history. He's been around all these great moments in time. Thanks for sharing!!
😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂
😂
How many people can say they met and played Monopoly with Jimi Hendrix before being run off by the mob? 😂 Jesus Christ.
He Knows What LOVE IS
@@e.l.norton Nailed it! 😂
I heard Donn Landee is coming in and then the Internet will break from the mindblowing knowledge and stories.
DON'T tease me.
Seriously.. if it’s true
what has taken Donn so long to give an interview ?
Yes please!!!
I hope so!!!!
I can't wait for Donn Landee
Doug Messenger is one of the nicest guys in the music "industry". I met him at his studio when I came up from San Diego to record a song for the Frank Marino (Mahogany Rush) tribute album. I had a studio in San Diego as I had been a guitarist and recording engineer since my teens, but a good friend of mine Willy Parsons (the famous biker comic) was responsible for putting the tribute album together as he became good friends with Frank and found out about Dougs studio through Ronnie Montrose who also played on the tribute album. I came up to see the studio and met Ronnie there and he had drummer Eric Singer and bassist Ricky Phillips, and hung out with everybody while they recorded that first day. Ronnie was a really sweet guy as well and gave everyone Montrose tour t-shirts and some other cool stuff he had in the trunk of his car at the end of the recording day. Doug and I hit it off right away and he was like a big brother to me from that day on. He had an incredibly warm sounding 48 channel british analog Dynamix console in his control room that had a bunch of Deane Jensen mods, because Doug and Deane were good friends before Deane passed away. Doug was known for getting killer analog style recordings at his studio. After we cut my song for the Frank Marino album, Doug told me that his good friend Moon Martin ("Bad Case Of Loving You") had a spare 40 channel Dynamix that was sitting in his garage for sale. Doug said that if I bought it that he would help me modify the entire console which was beyond generous. For about a year and a half, I would come up from my studio in San Diego and Doug would let me sleep on his couch in his studio while we soldered our asses off doing the mods on all 40 channels of The Dynamix. I don't think he knew what he was getting into when he made the offer, but like a true bro he taught me how to do all of the mods and donated all of that time to me out of the goodnes of his heart. To hang out with him for hundreds and hundreds of hours and hear his stories of the LA rock scene was priceless. Doug didn't do drugs during that crazy era while everyone else was, and you can clearly hear the detail and wisdom in his storytelling. A true gem of a human being and a really great guitar player. Thank you and BIG love to you Doug! 🙏 ~ Jeff Cloud / Cloud 9 Recording Studio
Please have this gentleman back for 2 more hours!!!
That storm Doug is speaking of was hurricane Doreen in August of 1977, August 15 and 16 the rain was so heavy it dumped 2" to 8" over Los Angeles. This was an incredible interview, the wealth of knowledge Doug shares is simply incredible. Thanks so much once again to Sunset Sound!
Thanks!!! August 15th 1977 was a Monday, but the rain was heaviest in LA on Tuesday 8/16/77.
@Guitarslingin Zombiekiller Per Ted T., he saw the band Feb 2, 1977 and did the 25 song demo in April 77. The record was done Sept/Oct 77.
@@mattkaustickomments I always read that it was a rainy Monday night.
@@nelsonblantonsellshouses998 thanks I was just coming back here to say Wikipedia listed Feb 2, 1977 (which was a Wednesday) and there was no precipitation that day from what I could find. Not at LAX anyway.
@@nelsonblantonsellshouses998
I will never forget Doreen; the bitch it was. Up here in the Mojave desert, tremendous flash flooding wreaked havoc and death. A young woman with her two infants attempted to cross a 5 foot deep dip on Avenue N, aka the Amorgoso Creek wash. The woman not aware how deep and dangerous that dip was. The road looks level when the dip/washout is full. She drove into the wash defying flashing road safety signals and her small import car was swept into the raging flood waters. She was found in her car with her kids with her car resting against bridge pillars at Avenue S 5 miles downstream. Of course all 3 lives were lost.
Avenue N between Lancaster and Palmdale, between Sierra Highway and 10th St. West is still in the same configuration to this day.
You can still hear the pain when he talks about losing his wife. So tragic. Even after all these years, you never really heal but more like trying to fill the void of loss....Which is futile. Loved hearing his story.
Doug's memory recall is astounding. He remembers the name of the waitress at the Starwood on that fateful night!
This guitarist guy Doug Messenger NEEDS to write a book about his life I'd buy it for sure!
This is one of the greatest interviews I've ever heard.
I used to see van Halen when they were mammoth at the teen center in van Nuys in 74
Can you share what you remember about seeing VH in '74?
@@jonsilence the thing I remember most is the band name stamped on my hand . also they played dance cover rock tunes. As far as each player I was too stoned. They were a good band tho I remember that much anyway.
@@gospelreader9467: Thanks Ron! A Van Halen hand stamp at the door, now THAT'S great marketing!
@@jonsilence they were mammoth at that time
@@gospelreader9467: Aha, a Mammoth hand stamp! I saw the OTHER Mammoth, who were from the SF Valley, at the Starwood. But I didn't get a Mammoth hand stamp! :)
This is one of the most incredible interviews I have ever heard...this guys history is incredible! I remember the "Rock Corporation" in Van Nuys the Starwood in Hollywood from the late 70's incredible clubs that will never happen again and I remember the Van Morrison tunes he played on which I had on vinyl from 1973! Incredible..
Man - that Hendrix story towards the end is just so heartbreaking yet so fucking amazing.
It’s funny how all this EVH stuff is coming out now after his passing. This stuff should have been out years ago, Eddie was fantastic, the best.
Messenger may have made some calls to WB but they went unheeded; it has long been known that Marshall Berle is the one who got Ted to come to the Starwood. The big question though is why Starwood? VH were also playing the Whisky at that point, and had lost most of their Starwood audience from over saturation.
This guy is so freaking good at telling storys. I could listen to him for hours..
Right! Something about him and the way he tells the story’s
Hell yes! I want to hear more!!
I just did!
One of the best interviews I’ve ever heard this guy needs to write a book if he does I’m getting it
I am loving all of these Van Halen roundtable sessions. More please! 😁🎸🤘
That's true about Unchained at 36:00. Ed came back to the studio alone in the middle of the night and re-recorded the solo. He said Ted and no one for that matter noticed he had changed the solo ... that really upset him. I remember reading that in an interview back in '83 or so. Ed always talked about Ted's influence on Dancing in the Streets being the reason for building his own studio, but I think he linked his desire for more control to this experience with the Unchained solo.
Eddie's amp sound on VH II will always be my measuring stick, forever and always, man. The best.
Haha..yeah dude its fantastic..its insane really.. the brown sound they call it I think.. just crazy good stuff. Love it. I love the gene demos too. I love the sound and the way the sounds are laid out.. there different and really badass I felt
I loved Ed's tone on VH 1, 2 and Fair Warning. VH II was just a little cleaner than VH 1 but sounds like its more drive and compression from the power amp section. Fair Wairing adds a little of the Eventide and is probably my overall favorite sound of all.
@@davidyergensen4509 Yes! I remember playing through an Eventide in a studio circa 1985ish and thinking maybe that's what the lead for Unchained had on it.... It feels like I hear the cabinet too on VH II more than other albums though.
This is another guest that needs to come back!
Another excellent interview thank you so much for this content.
I can picture a Netflix series called “Searching for Spider Taylor”.
Yes!!!!
He was absolutely amazing! And continues to be in death - with a LGBTQ case going all the way to the Supreme Court soon! His partner Michael Ely is still around...
I could listen to another couple hours of that.
Thanks for you patience everyone!
So do I! 🤟🏻😆👍🏻❤️🎸
all killer, no filler - an unbelievable interview, fascinating from beginning from end.
Thanks so much to Sunset Sound!
Jesus.... you can hear how much he STILL loves his wife; she must've been an amazing woman!
Great interview. EVH was an inventor of genius. He invented his own guitar, his own sound, and his own way of playing, and all three were without parallel or peer.
These are so awesome!!! My kids will thank Sunset Sound in about 8 years. Keep Music History Alive!!
I subscribed a week ago. Sunset Sound is my favorite studio. So much history and great music in that place. Keep the Van Halen Videos coming out. Thanks ALot.
Doug is such a nice person , we need more Dougs in this world... This is so nice to hear about all those stories, these are pure rock n roll history, nice job, fantastic interview !
This guy is a fantastic story teller. Damn!!
Great interview. I would have listened for hours. Doug is a great story teller. Please bring him back for more.
Ps: I remember being in L.A. In fall or winter months of 1977 and I remember a week of horrendous rain like he's talking about then. i have lived in L.A. For 40 years now and I remember only one other time with rain like that...in fact I was living in North Hollywood and I think some graveyard was washed out in Tujunga with corpses being washed out of graves . Amazing interview...
I thought it was January or February 1978 because I went to the Starwood and then Naugles Mexican Restaurant on Santa Monica Blvd ,stuck my hand out to get a burrito and the rain came down like crazy and knocked the burrito out of my hand. They gave me another one. I couldn't get back over the hill to the valley because the rain was pouring so hard down all the streets. Eventually it stopped
just enough to get back.
Yes! I was there that time too and don't remember the rain but remember the graves being washed out reports. It's true!
Doug's knowledge and back stories are priceless
Absolutely Fascinating to hear theses stories. Thank you for sharing!!
My father just passed back in October and he was an electronics engineer who was among the first graduating class of the, new then, electronics department at Cal Poly SLO….he worked his entire career for The US Navy and NASA….and was also a HAM radio operator……I would loved to have asked him if he recalled the name “Sherman Fairchild”…..that certainly seems like a name that would be familiar to him!
I think Ted T. also mentioned the rain/flooding in his book when he was working at Sunset. Those looking for more content to feed your Van Halen fix, get Ted’s book. It’s absolutely brilliant👍🏼.
Holy amazing interview.. He s got so much to tell.. Great stories
Great history here. Love the Ted Templeman tie-ins with Ronnie Montrose, Van Morrison, etc. Doug's experience spans both of the true guitar innovators of our time - EVH and Hendrix. The cherry on top is his mention of Danny Weis, a big influence on my own playing through his playing on the first Iron Butterfly record.
Amazing, epic, fascinating, detailed...how about a part two?
I do not mean my next comment in a sarcastic or nasty way but you really need to ask Doug
for a FULL 8 to 10 hours of his time and record the WHOLE thing. His stories and his memories are genuine treasures!!! At FIRST I DID think that he was a little "all over the place" and at times not sticking to the topic but GOT DAMN the "off topic" info that he ended up sharing was REALLY interesting and enlightening. SIDENOTE: I'm completely addicted to these episodes, excellent job guys!
❤️❤️❤️❤️ Great Interview. See ya next week Sunset Sound and VH family!!
This guy seems as awesome as his stories! Truly enjoyed every bit of this talk. He should definitely be in the first scene of the Biopic, whenever they'll make it. 🤟🏻😉 Can't wait who's coming next!🔝🎸👍🏻
Amazing Ed and TED stories. I had not heard the argument during Unchained.
I noticed a lot of glossing over DLR & his personality issues I think none us would be talking about Eddie the way we all remember vh if not for the chemistry of the original 4 members as well as dlr's energy as a frontman!
That's what my opinion has always been..Most fans don't get it right. And also I lost some respect for the way the brothers hammered DAVID . Templeman and landee were huge getting the sound on those records.
@@HardRockMaster7577you might want to dig into the lastest books and UA-cam channels that reveal inside information from the people that were there on the tours in the studio and record executives.. you might get some facts never before made public
Then you may be more qualified in your judgements.
Pure class 👏👏👏🙆 hearing the stories from the masters is priceless 🎼🎤🎸. Thanks for sharing these stories of my musical Idols✨️. Left me speechless & wanting to hear more👍. RIP EVH 👑 & all the greats we've sadly lost 😔.
Thank you VERY MUCH for these videos, guys!!
It’s really interesting to hear the inside stories,
So appreciated!👍🙏
Man, this guy had some great stories! Really enjoyed this one fellas.
Imagine getting Michael Anthony or Alex on here.
They should get Michael and Sammy in there...Sammy was with Montrose when he was recording at Sunset Sound, no? Either together or separate, would be a great interview.
It's confounding to me how no one ever tries to interview extant members of the band and ask about the early days. (People forget: 2 former members of van halen passed away in 2020. Eddie and mark stone) The EVH smithsonian interview got close but did not go into the early days of the band very much. Hell......the band never really put a lot of focus on its legacy. There is soooooo little good footage of the band pre-1984. Because that costs money. To do a film/video shoot back then was a lot of money and the bros. were cheap. Sammy comes in and they do live with out a net on that first tour. But it's just amazingly confusing how none of them talk about the early days of the band. Right now would be a good time to get alex, mike, and dave's memories recorded and put down. Even put them in the same room together as memories feed off each other......but dave tends to takeover. Maybe one day.....
@@mindeloman There supposedly is footage, but there probably was legal issues. There are a few things that have popped up. I'm sure Dave, Alex, and Mike have something. Wolfgang and Alex are taking their time sorting through the tapes which will probably take a while.
Dave talks to much ..... it would be cool to just have mike and al do an interview but it would probably never happen but then again ya never know..... it’s still absolutely amazing al has never done anything else without Ed period
@@mindeloman that 2012 talk between Dave and the Van Halens about the old days is pretty revealing
These videos are addicting!! And I immediately had to buy a Sunset Sound shirt after seeing all of the videos so far in this series. Love this studio!! ❤🔥🔥
I could book a vacation just to listen to this Doug Messenger talk about music!
No one EVER talks about the genius of writing the vocal melodies! Always about the songs and the guitar playing but never about the guy who had to go away in a room and come up with what everybody was going to sing when the song came out, the thing that actually makes the song viable and popular. David Lee roth, Sammy Hagar, these guys deserve immense praise for coming up with those great vocal melodies, they are also incredibly talented musicians!
Exactly. If it wasn't for the great vocal melodies, I don't VH would have had the career they had. The vocals will make or break the band.
Oh yeah! Rhythm and Harmony #1 then imagination and intelligence to add words. How that vocal melody sits within the instruments can make or break the song. Not to mention the vocal melody and lyrics are the best opportunity to inject originality.
Diamond Dave is one of the greatest lyricists and storytellers of all time.
David Lee Roth was a great showman and I preferred him as the frontman but are we trying to say he was a vocal talent? Again being a frontman is more than just having a good voice and he had all of those other things. But his voice much like a Mick Jagger isn’t particularly let’s call it what it is it’s limited at best.
@@rheinhardtgrafvonthiesenha8185 Everybodys voice sounds like sht when they're screaming at the top of their lungs every night for a solid year. That aside Van Halen was a party band. Nobody went to a Halen concert expecting Pavarotti. Roth was a top tier vocal talent, and lyricist of his era. Same as Plant, same as Tyler and others.
When he breaks up talking about his wife, so heart breaking and romantic
Wow, thanks for the shoutout Doug (Messenger)! Great job Drew & Geoff. #Pod
What a trip! I was just thinking about Doug this weekend... haven’t seen or spoken to him since my days at Sennheiser in Burbank in the late 90’s - early 2000’s, and here he is. Wow! I had no idea of his history, only that he was very nice, extremely smart, and could tell a great story. Enjoyed speaking with him every time he came by. I guess it’s better that I didn’t know then. I would’ve had him telling stories all day and I wouldn’t have gotten anything done. Great video guys! Thanks for that!
It's almost hard to believe that once upon a time, the world was an amazing place.
Wow... what more can be said?!?!
These videos are treasures!!
Absolutely captivating!
Pretty please with a cherry on top have Doug Messenger back in for another interview. This man had incredible stories and was very entertaining. 😁🎸🤘
This video series is EPIC guys - tried to go back to work, but couldn't haha! Keep it up - SO great to hear about the Van Halen stuff!
Awesome interview. Thank you for your astute recollections Doug.
Fantastic show!!! Anything about Eddie is great for me….This is a show for All of Eddies fans…Thanks so much, Doug is great 👍🏻 too listen to….
Doug and I were neighbors for more than a decade in N Hollywood, just a stones throw from his studio and would often hang out or go grab some lunch together and he always had great stories to tell. Great guy, super nice too. I'd love to see more interviews with him and as several people have mentioned here, he should write a book, it would do well. I hope he's still keeping busy and using his substantial talents. If you're a musician or band looking to shape your sound, Doug is the guy you want to work with. Cheers.
Oh man! If you can bring in Don Landee, Gene Simmons and and Ted, that would be so f-ing awesome!!! Thank you Sunset Sound!!!
Skip Gene😂😂
Just Don and Ted!
Have Gene in and he wont shut up
Yeah, just Donn and Ted please!
Absolutely Gen Simmons !!
Gene makes shit up.
I played many gigs at the Starwood back in the day. I recall the ladies there were ‘very’ friendly.
The word ‘no’ was ‘not’ in their vocabulary…
Great stories!
This is priceless thanks so much I could listen to this for days!
What an amazing interview with some amazing stories.
Great stories! Thanks, Doug, Thanks, Sunset Sound, keep up the good work!!!
Thanks so much for doing these!
Great interview! Thank you guys.
Absolutely amazing , i cld listen for hours. What a humble guy
I agree, Very interesting…Glad I stayed and Listened…Great Interesting 🤨 interesting interview.
been watching this all week .. what fascinating person Doug is .. Thank You Sunset Sound Recorders!!
A treasure to hear What an interesting man. Very intelligent man.I would love to hear more from this man interviewed by these same guys. All SO knowledgeable ❤️
Doug mentioned José during the interview. He was talking about Jose that owned Arko electronics in the San Fernando Valley. José in addition to working with Eddie also worked for The Rolling Stones and repaired and modified amps for a lot of players..
Thank you Doug!!! You do deserve the credit for how alot of VH fell into place and I feel the same WOMEN IN LOVE!!! One of the best intros and songs that never really gets talked about!
Gosh, I hope these vids + stories never stop...
Great interview! Somebody needs to find out about that Spider Taylor guy!
Red Wedding was his band...
Gobsmacked! Fabulous interview.
These interviews are amazing.
Amazing. No others words Needed.
This is great. Please keep doing more of this kind of stuff.
LOVE these interviews!!! Very interesting!! More !!
This was really cool….. He’s a great story teller, I was practicing my chord progression while listening…… the thing about Van Halen Stories is that I kind of feel the energy of them practicing to become something and putting pride in their craft to take that journey to make it to the big stage…. It’s awesome
I grew up in the San Gabriel Valley and got to see Halen a few times a month. When I saw Eddie
Playing at Gazzarri's one song they played was Beer Drinkers & Hell Raisers where Billy does a couple of taps, 6 months later seeing Halen at the Pasadena civic he played Eruption for the first time we couldn't believe our ears and we could clearly see how he was doing it, he didn't hide it then.
I've heard a bad quality tape recording of them doing that tune from their club days and Ed is tapping all over it. I couldn't find it on YT but this is pretty much the same from what I remember:
ua-cam.com/video/UXtEUgs89qQ/v-deo.html&ab_channel=AnthonyWhiteman
i could sit and listen to this guy talk all day long. What a life!
Loved every moment of this one as well.
Great Content, love this channel!!
Great stories guys. Thanks
Jaw-dropping story telling .________everything was interesting as heck. This guy gets around. I luv your channel
I went to the Starwood often in the mid to late 70's met Eddie backstage one time, he was wearing a pin striped jump suit with a guitar shaped Broch on he lapel.
so many great bands stared there
More please. Thank you.
Great interview thanks for posting
This is folklore!! WOW! Thank you!
I was at the Starwood show. I lived up Laurel Canyon and was walking home when the rain started. Dude let me into an empty club. I stayed upstairs. After hearing Eddie, I remember thinking how far behind I'd become in my guitar playing. A cherished memory.
This is amazing content. The mystique of all of this is fascinating. I was born in 1975. I was way too young to get to enjoy the 80s fully. I hit 15 in 1990 and grunge came on and messed it all up for me. I was a child drummer since I was old enough to walk. I was a little Alex Van Halen / Tommy Aldridge / Tommy Lee type drummer in The foothills of Appalachia in Georgia. I played with high school kids and older. Gigs were not even acceptable in the area due to the Bible and the popularity of country and blue grass music. My ability to learn about the outside world of rock and roll was magazines found at grocery store magazine racks, 96 rock atlanta radio, MTV on my friend’s satellite dish tv(I got friends to record vhs tapes of headbangers ball), and cassettes bought at out of town (Atlanta Turtle’s) record stores. Van Halen stood out as the top of the Hierchy of rock. All the members were the best. All of the rock bands that came after were a copy. Even though I was a drummer and liked Alex VanHalen, Eddie stood out the most to me. I obsessed over every word in Guitar Magazines. Gear. Technical talk. Etc. I seemed to know more about EVH and his gear than any guitarist I knew. When I got older, I eventually visited LA around 2005-2008. I went many times. The magic was already gone. It felt like a tourist trick to see all of the places I dreamed about. But, yes, I did get up and Jam with various musicians at The Joint, The Cat House, The Whiskey, etc… and it was all too late. The only rock that existed was some kind of EMO or Kelly Clarkson type of vibe. I got to ride up to Eddies driveway with a friend who made a delivery. The delivery….Long Story, related but unrelated to EVH. Only the driveway. Not even all the way up the driveway. I felt so much anxiety getting to see that big ass house on the hill hanging over the driveway. The place I dreamed of. 5150. Where all of these sounds came from. The scary street leading up to Ed’s house is frightening. I’ve walked the beach in front of Ed and Vals Malibu house. Been to Cabo Wabo in 1995. Got up and jammed there. Etc. It all happened before my time essentially. But my childhood in the 80s dreaming of mystical LA music scene shapes me today. I always heard of Sunset Sound. The pictures of VH in the studio. I’d always smell every new cassette liner (fresh off the press) and read every word in the credits. I’d see Sunset Sound on lots of album credits. The place is magical. Now we have home recording. Of course irs handy and also an art form. The magic of these big studios with the huge boards and huge budget! The sound quality was an art form. Now everything sounds digital and compressed. Yuck. So….I still play. I play in an 80s guitar rock band. I play a big double bass drum set. We only play the BIG ROCK songs. No southern rock. No depressing songs. Lots of VH. Ac/dc. Whitesnake. It’s fun. But it’s sad to see the audience in old age and hardly any young people. Sure, the young audience can feel the energy. But they don’t connect. Usually it’s a pretty girl that had fun dressing up like the big hair 80s in a rock hair and ripped jeans outfit. She will say “my dad always played this music”. She gets to play dress up I suppose. Or the young dude who says classic rock is badass. It sure is a slap in the face to end the gig at the bar and the bar staff quickly throws on the music which is….rap. As if they were dying for us to quit playing. The bar tenders and waitresses seem to frown when we show up for a gig. They wanna hear rap. But, they love the money that the 60+ year old rock audience spends. Big tips. The young rap or pop fans never spend money in the bars. Not good tips Anyways. Sorry for my story. I’m still a huge fan. I could go on and on. I have the ear for what made VH truly great. I get it. By the way, truly great things could have come from EVH in his later years. He could do no wrong. ME WISE MAGIC was some killer progressive stuff. I wish Eddie could have continued on that path. He was limited by Rock being murdered by grunge, the band breakups, failure of his marriage, drugs, alcohol, and age. A Different Kind Of Truth had a lot of magic on it. It was just out of place and the audience had moved into old age. Losing EVH is like losing a Leonardo DaVinci of music.
Fascinating! Thanks for sharing this rock history. THIS is the type of inside knowledge that is priceless!!!
I love guys like this.in the thick of it and remembers minutiae and tell you about it this is the best interview I ever seen.