Read Newton's article based on this interview: bit.ly/3YOyBnI Link to Newton's Patreon page: bit.ly/3WQBr9S 00:00 - Intro 01:27 - Start of Alex Van Halen Interview 01:56 - His earliest memories of playing with his brother, Eddie Van Halen, and his dad’s musical career 03:14 - Who the Van Halen brothers would try to emulate musically 03:33 - Who were his drum gods when he first started playing 04:30 - Playing with his dad’s Jazz band and if he took lessons 05:29 - If Eddie was part of his dad’s band 05:42 - When did he know Eddie Van Halen would be a legend and his own guitar-playing 06:21 - Did he know early on how big Van Halen would become, and early days with the LA club scene 06:50 - The night Warner Brothers saw them for the first time 08:33 - What’s his favorite David Lee Roth Van Halen album is 09:19 - The essence and core of Van Halen 09:54 - How Sammy Hagar could have replaced Roth back in 1978 10:48 - How Van Halen has evolved since Sammy Hagar joined the band. 11:49 - How producer Bruce Fairbairn got involved in producing “Balance” 13:24 - Van Halen’s process in picking a producer 14:29 - Does he have any input into writing Van Halen songs? 15:43 - How much longer does he see Van Halen rocking? 16:17 - What’s the best thing about being in Van Halen 16:31 - Alex talks about Van Halen’s USA Harvest can drive 17:52 - Alex gives the name of the person Steve should talk to to get backstage.
He doesn't really sound like Ed. It's kind of "distorted " because he's on a landline phone. Although he and Ed do share the same inflection and "dialect".
@@Saybleugo back and listen to Outta Love Again and tell me how “average” he is - Alex is a monster and he would’ve been the star in any other band but he got overshadowed bc his little brother is the greatest RnR guitarist ever and his original lead singer was the prototype for an RnR frontman. awful take, dude.
Alan, this is perfection mate. Telling the story with entertaining depth and imagery. It will be remembered and enjoyed for years to come. I’m still pinching myself that I got to be involved. Thanks for having me 🎸😁🤘
If it's perfect it's parlty because of you. The series would have sucked with canned stock audio music. But with you and your guitar it made it completely different. I hope one day there will be another project we can work on together. Whatever you need in the future, please let me know..🤘🍻
@@TheTapesArchive Likewise mate, pleasure working with you. Thanks for all your help on my stuff too, it's made a huge difference. Until we meet again 😎🤝
I enjoyed hearing that. Alex was all the big laugher of the bunch in interviews. He has a great sense of humor that balances his Dutch practicality. He was his little brother's biggest fan too! Thank you!
@@TheTapesArchive OMG me too! But its clear that you spent a TON of time and put so much into it. And THEN you had to update and creatively edit (well done, by the way). Im just stoked folks are getting to see it and learn about key moments in Rock History! Keep up the great work dude!!!!
Thank you for a great interview with one of the best drummers. I visited the VH concert in BC in 1995 : good memory. You always recognise it is Al behind the drums because he has developped his own signature. And one can tell he was influenced by Baker, Moon but also Ray Philips. Just like Ed he is very talented and used to laugh a lot. I am looking forward to the release of his book in october because it will be a celebration of the unique joint venture these brothers had...Thanks again, in Dutch dank-je-wel voor sharing this lovely footage ❤
Jazz musicians in New Orleans, the blues, also had a major impact. I grew up with jazz, my mom was a professional jazz vocalist and step pop was jazz pianist. I happen to have a rather eclectic taste in music, not only as a guitar player, but as a musician. Last December Spotify sent me congratulatory video saying I was in the top 2% of diverse listeners, 299 different musical artists. Ive really related to Van Halen early on. Saw them the first time in 1978. Edward's playing impressed many musicians who worked with my mom and dad, and after seeing them in 1980, had to bring some VH concert t shirts to musicians who worked in my mom and dads circles. Listening to Alex really makes me realize how much I have in common with their upbringing. Obviously I never "made it" in music. But still love to play guitar. Thanks for the privilege of hearing this @The Tapes Archive, its the ducks guts. Best regards.
Sounds like you have music in your veins and grew up in a working jazz family. Having such an understanding and thus appreciation of music is truly a gift. Great story, thanks for sharing it!
Alex is one of my favorite drummers, period. His feel, his SOUND. On Van Halen's "Jump," when he comes in . . . man, that ain't just some little pop tune.
A buddy of mine worked at a rock station in Regina and interviewed Alex back in the early 2000s. He asked about that Simpsons episode with Van Halen at the Grammy’s and Alex said he knew about it but never saw it. He got him tickets to their show in Saskatoon with a backstage pass and that Alex seemed like a good guy.
I love how at the end he asks Alex to have a beer with him. HELL YES! work every angle, it would have been awesome to have met Alex after a show for a beer!
Big Band Era... That was music that my parents knew and loved. I am a little younger than the Van Halens. The "Swing" of Big Bands is found in many great Rock bands, like VH and Led Zeppelin. 🙂
For doing very few interviews over the years, Alex is very talkative, informative and interesting to listen to. I wish he would come out and do some drumming incites into how he played some VH songs. Hopefully he will get something together as VH tribute to Eddie and everyone else.
LOVELY interview with ALEX bless him. Great account of the old days in Holland with him & his brother & their Dad hearing & rehearsing music at home & playing it in public. Ed was funny also when talking about this stuff at the Smithsonian in 2015 ( Ed - 'Quick play the music on the spot to the audience, feed me the chords Alex, A,,,,C,,,,,D ' .....Alex - 'No it was a G Edward , Yer f*cked up' ! .. ) .....lol
Enjoyed listening to this interview Tape archives!!!! Very interesting period for v h since Sammy was gonna be gone the next year! I don’t think Van Halen was ever the same again those 4 guys again ! Thanks Tape archives for uploading this interview! Space ace Ron⚡️⚡️⚡️
Eddie was King. And Alex was never shadowed by his brothers talent. Alex was king also. He influenced my professional drum career as much as anyone. He was as influential as any rock drummer and played with so much flavor and technique. God bless ya Alex....you left so much for generations of drummers to marvel over.
I was 13 in 1976. I was into Purple, Zeppelin, Sabbath, etc. I'm from San Gabriel bout' 3 miles so of Pasadena. I, the youngest, hung out with 5 long-haired cool cats up the street. When I turned 14 in early 77, I piled in a car with the dudes and went to see this band called Van Halen. Like everyone else, I had to hold on they were so f'n good! Van Halen did 2 sets a night at the Whisky in Hollywood. I traipsed around behind the guys when we wandered up-stairs between sets and after the show. I still have a few pictures we took with Ed and Mike. A flyer signed by Edward, Mikey, and Dave! Ed, full of energy and always a "schlitz malt liquor" in hand would smile talk and what not. We'd see Punky Meadows and Barry Brandt from the band "Angel" amongst others, always talking Ed up. I have a picture of Eddie Van Halen smoking a cigarette standing outside top of the stairs behind the whisky, before show! Alex ever the cool headed guy, talked to no one, ever (in my recollection) He'd always be sitting on a sofa (seemingly unapproachable) and always with his arm around a beautiful girl! Alex was the "mastermind" in my eyes. Quiet and stealth! I had never really heard Alex Van Halen talk or open up till this interview Lastly Thank you Todd, Paul, and John, without whom I would have never known. Thank you for posting this Gem!💎 and I apologize for the long winded comment!
I was walking down a hallway at the Hard Rock hotel in 95 and walked past a room with an open door and Alex was sitting on a couch in the hotel room. Then I go to get on the elevator and all the wifes got off when I was getting on.....Valerie too. It would be great if Alex had a UA-cam channel and would show us fellow drummers his tricks. Tuning, bass drum sound (it is different than Bonhams bass sound), snare sound tricks why his throne is so low, his pedal technique, his double bass technique, drum stories, etc.
Love this channel. Love anything you put up Van Halen it’s all gold. Would love to hear more from Alex in the future. I know he’s interviews were rare.
Alex talks about the recognizable soundstyle a musciscian makes that you immediately makes you think of them. Well he did that also for himself. Like a Buddy Rich. I always knew hearing his drums it was him. HIS AVH drumming style. So great what also contributed so much to the VH sound. Love it, respect! always a fan, for life and beyond. 🤘🤘
Oh this is brilliant! The maniacal laughter when Alex says he’s somewhere between 30 and 150 years old! 😂 Made me giggle. Thank you for sharing this with us.
I like that Alex drops that 'Sammy in the band from the beginning' nugget in this OPEN interview. That has LONG been a source of speculation and Alex just nukes all doubt with that admission. This was a really interesting interview!!
@@thefonzkiss You're correct. No one doubts that, Roth was the ONLY one with any real ambition or drive TOWARDS fame and success. Sadly, the Van Halen brothers were too much like their father, a follower, an added piece, just looking for a place to jam and play. They also, like their father, had wicked drinking habits which clouds your judgement and ability to motivate yourself. Roth, for all his persona and pomp, really only drank when he was in character, off stage, in real life, he avoided the stuff, which is why he was able to really lead and direct the bands direction. In the end, it all happened for a reason, Roth LEFT to captain his own ship and Sammy came in anyway and both made incredible music, so, WIN/WIN!
Ted Templeman is the only one who suggested Hagar for VH. But that's because he produced both bands, and Roth was a leader. Eliminate the leader, insert another guy you control, and he'd have puppets. What Al doesn't say here is that he and his brother wanted and demanded the band stay together and had no interest in Hagar. They made the right call. I've gotten a kick out of how some fans act like Roth had an out of control ego. As if Ed and Al didn't? They had massive egos. They both took solos for ego every night. They spoke with ego. They were flashy like Dave. Dressed flashy.. a gong with flaming sticks? Flashy guitar, air jumps, solo every song? Of course I dug it and expected it all, but the narrative that Dave had an ego and they were humble church mice is BS. But I noticed that Dave was all about the band. He was super protective of the band, and he was the leader and unstoppable force that helped drive VH to success. In the end, he gets shit on like he was self centered. Diver Down.....I heard an interview where Eddie said he didn't like that management was rushing them to make another album when they were supposed to have a vacation. So they decided that cover songs would help expedite, and he didn't want to waste good material on a rushed project. Made sense. But then later it became "Dave wanted to be a cover band". No he didn't. Obviously he wrote some of the most legendary classic rock songs. And I like DD. I never questioned their ability to write because they put their imprint on some classic covers. But again, they collectively agreed to do that. But Ed, God rest his soul, my idol, had a tendency to lie and blame others.
@@TheCountofToulouse I remember in 1986 when Sammy had just joined there was a VH band interview with J.D Considine & in this interview Alex raised the issue that Sammy was the first choice to be vocalist in VH in 1977 when they were about to cut VH 1 at Sunset Sound..... It didn't happen because there were LEGAL problems getting Sammy on board. So they went with DLR......DLR was very labour intensive in getting the band noticed & started but there is no way he had Sammy's top range....But it was just a discussion to originally have Sammy on board. Nothing was on paper contractually. How the writing process in the band would have evolved differently had this happened is interesting to speculate about.....Incidentally, I wouldn't talk about Ed & Alex's DAD JAN like that. People should see the total picture. Noel Monk tried to do that in his book & its very unkind. Jan (their Father) may have had problems with alcohol and thought he was helping Ed when at the age of 12 when bitten by a dog he gave his son a shot of alcohol . Jan thought he was doing the right thing because he could see his son was traumatized. People drink for reasons. To try to cope with trauma, or overcome shyness or because they are depressed. The KEY thing to remember was that their Father JAN was the MUSICAL SPIRIT who INSPIRED HIS SONS to EXPRESS THEMSELVES THROUGH MUSIC FOR THEIR WHOLE LIVES.... HE was the SPARKPLUG ...And if you heard these Jas Obrecht & Steven Rosen interviews of Edward where he talks about his Father you would realize that the fantastic Musical influence Jan had on his sons is FAR MORE IMPORTANT & SIGNIFICANT to their evolution than any alcohol problems. On this Steven Rosen phone interview Ed was crying talking about his Father's situation where because of bad luck of a horrible accident & not getting breaks with useless music unions he never got to realize his own dream. And Ed said - 'Alex & myself want to do everything we can to help him out.' & they did. & right now ED is jamming in Heaven with his DAD on Big bad Bill #2.
Great interview. Such a rare thing it is for Alex to give an interview. But, I’m a little embarrassed when an interviewer comes in cold without a history check. Especially at the end when he said I’d like to meet you backstage for a beer. Alex’s sobriety might’ve been good fodder for a question
@@earofnewt hey, no problem. Now I read what I wrote and it comes off as harsh. I didn’t mean it to be. Very good interview my friend. My biggest complaint would be it’s too short 😀. And so am I 😀
believe it or not, that's one of my longer interviews. Back in 1995 we didn't do 90 minute interviews like the podcasts of today. I tried to keep my conversations concise, so as not to waste the time of the famous person I was chatting with @@JerryTheVeganRockstar
It's sometimes strange to listen to the Hagar-era interviews, because at the time the band always sent the message of, "This is the second and final line-up of the band. We're happy, we like working with Sammy more than with Dave, and we're not going to change that." The closest thing I ever heard to that not being the case was an EVH interview around this time with Rolling Stone, where he said they'd have to jam with Dave if they ever got into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame (which unfortunately didn't happen). Little did anyone know that 1995 was the last hurrah for the band as a regular operating unit; after this it was pretty much all one-offs and reunions and breakups and so on.
Great interview and so upbeat. Loved. Wild side note; I met Scotty Ross a couple times back in '88 when he managed Poison. He was super nice to this stupid 18-year old kid.
Greetings from Jundiaí, Brazil. On this interview, Alex still has a strong Dutch accent. I believe he and his family kept speaking his mother tongue after moving to The United States (not America as a country). Immigrants normally keep speaking their mother tongue after arriving and living in a different country. Anyway, I just wonder why Van Halen neglected to play in South America after 1983 Hide Your Sheep Tour tour.
No one just doesn’t care for the guitar. They try it, it’s too hard for them and the go for something else. That said, Alex was meant to play the drums and is one the most underrated players on all time
it sure was great interviewing Alex back in 1995. Please ignore the mistake in the intro about Bruce Fairbairn producing F.U.C.K. Obviously he produced Balance, not F.U.C.K. Can't believe I missed that in the proofreading process. I should be fired for that! ;)
You're totally forgiven! You do a mighty good interview sir. I don't usually care for this kinda thing, but this was great. You put Al at ease and just let him do his thing.
@@earofnewt You know what's kinda cool? The next night after this interview (I assume the interview was on the 2nd night of their Boston dates), the band was on Letterman, and it was in my "next up" videos this morning ua-cam.com/video/6vHL4gyYjnY/v-deo.html Kinda cool I guess
@@earofnewt It's strange because Alex sounds very different "in person" than Edward. More nasley I suppose, but the phone hides that. Alex is my favorite VH band member.
So Alex was responsible for the keyboard riff the song “Feels so Good” is based on. I always wondered what Ed was thinking when he came up with that because it doesn’t sound like something Ed would write. Now I know- he was thinking about his brother.
I've got a old Guitar World interview where Ed was actually in the process of writing that song in 5150 during the production of OU812 ....It said 'Feels so Good' was an exhilarating marriage of buoyant keyboards and breakneck drumming...Ed said Alex quit drinking to do the drumming & the rhythm had a lot to do with how the tune was written. Ed was even dancing to it in the studio....lol....He said the tune was giving him difficulties saying - 'I was kinda stumped on it but I got past the hump..' Alex must have helped him on that. Actually, Alex was a key component to Ed's playing & writing......He would jam rhythms with Alex like ESP ....For evidence of this just go and watch the newly discovered footage of the brothers going together during the 1984 Castle Donington footage on 'Im So Glad' .....Kicks ass.
95 was a hugely important year in my life. I was at the crossroads in my life Pier 2 directions I could have taken. I chose the easier path and I regret it
He is and always will be my favorite classic rock drummer. I see the comments of average this average that. Obviously you don't listen with both ears. Just listen to the hi hat work in beautiful girls. The inverted ride pattern on hot for teacher... The intro to hot for teacher. Out of love again once again Hi hat and snare work. Try playing to loss of control. Play along to big money off balance. I could go on. You can't play next Ed your whole life and be average when he's the one of the greatest guitar players ever. Again listen with both ears.
Why did he omit the fact Gene was there & arranged a meeting with Bill Aucoin, and they wanted to replaced David Roth , so Aucoin was a No go & one night Paul was also there to see them, Gene went to speak with them after the show. If Im not mistaken he tipped off Templeman in some manner. Gene also brought Eddie & Alex to Record Plant studio where they did some recording.
In 1978 when Ed did the vibrato bar low descent on ERUPTION I thought the belt drive on the rotating vinyl turntable had snapped & the mechanism had ground to a halt ......lol
Holy shit, I was at that same concert in Vancouver in 1995 ( where this interview took place, apparently ) Alice in Chains opened up for VH at BC Place during the F.U.C.K. tour. Must have been the same one?
Man there's so little surviving footage of Bruce Fairbairn. I feel he's been overshadowed by Bob Rock, but his 90s stuff after they split is also great. He was one of the great producers of arena rock along Mutt Lange, Bob Rock, Peter Collins, Alex Salkin and David Foster
Everybody seems to emphasize the Dutch part of the brother's Van Halen,but you'z guy's overlook the fact that their Mom is Asian!(Javanese?).Thus,their brown'ish skin color.I think that racial mix also greatly contributed to their amazing work ethic!
She’s Indonesian, i think people emphasize the dutch part of their lineage because their father was always mentioned and what not and there are tons of videos out there of them speaking dutch
No Doubt Roth was a malcontent all throughout the early year’s until Roth bailed. Roth needed to get himself a Cabaret act in Las Vegas. Roth had a limited vocal range and talent. Once Sammy came in Ed was able to write better music and Sammy’s talent was a welcomed strength. Unlike Dave Roth, Sammy was an excellent guitar player and that added such a great change for the better.
Read Newton's article based on this interview: bit.ly/3YOyBnI
Link to Newton's Patreon page: bit.ly/3WQBr9S
00:00 - Intro
01:27 - Start of Alex Van Halen Interview
01:56 - His earliest memories of playing with his brother, Eddie Van Halen, and his dad’s musical career
03:14 - Who the Van Halen brothers would try to emulate musically
03:33 - Who were his drum gods when he first started playing
04:30 - Playing with his dad’s Jazz band and if he took lessons
05:29 - If Eddie was part of his dad’s band
05:42 - When did he know Eddie Van Halen would be a legend and his own guitar-playing
06:21 - Did he know early on how big Van Halen would become, and early days with the LA club scene
06:50 - The night Warner Brothers saw them for the first time
08:33 - What’s his favorite David Lee Roth Van Halen album is
09:19 - The essence and core of Van Halen
09:54 - How Sammy Hagar could have replaced Roth back in 1978
10:48 - How Van Halen has evolved since Sammy Hagar joined the band.
11:49 - How producer Bruce Fairbairn got involved in producing “Balance”
13:24 - Van Halen’s process in picking a producer
14:29 - Does he have any input into writing Van Halen songs?
15:43 - How much longer does he see Van Halen rocking?
16:17 - What’s the best thing about being in Van Halen
16:31 - Alex talks about Van Halen’s USA Harvest can drive
17:52 - Alex gives the name of the person Steve should talk to to get backstage.
The connection the brothers Van Halen had was magical.
Ed’s passing, I’m sure, left Al devastated.
RIP King Edward
Hearing Alex talk without seeing him makes me realize how much he and Eddie sound alike.
He does sound just like Eddie
He doesn't really sound like Ed. It's kind of "distorted " because he's on a landline phone. Although he and Ed do share the same inflection and "dialect".
When Alex and Dave did interviews together it was a laugh riot.
Definitely.
They had a similar sense of humor too, but I heard Alex was more short-tempered. The no b.s., blunt one of the two.
I really love and miss the brothers and their sound. Such an integral part of the fabric of my life. God bless these guys.
One of the most underrated drummers of all time.
Not really. He’s an average drummer who was in a great band. I’ve heard cover drummers who are better.
@@Saybleu who asked you little buddy ?
@@Saybleugo back and listen to Outta Love Again and tell me how “average” he is - Alex is a monster and he would’ve been the star in any other band but he got overshadowed bc his little brother is the greatest RnR guitarist ever and his original lead singer was the prototype for an RnR frontman. awful take, dude.
Not really. He’s an average drummer who was in a great band. I’ve heard cover drummers who are better.....
nobody cares about cover bands
I mean what a life..fuck yes he's underrated he was playing uniquely badass in 74! And to just be Alex Van mf Van Halennnnnnn
Alex wrote the keyboard part for Feels So Good. What a beast.
Alan, this is perfection mate. Telling the story with entertaining depth and imagery. It will be remembered and enjoyed for years to come. I’m still pinching myself that I got to be involved. Thanks for having me 🎸😁🤘
If it's perfect it's parlty because of you. The series would have sucked with canned stock audio music. But with you and your guitar it made it completely different. I hope one day there will be another project we can work on together. Whatever you need in the future, please let me know..🤘🍻
@@TheTapesArchive Likewise mate, pleasure working with you. Thanks for all your help on my stuff too, it's made a huge difference. Until we meet again 😎🤝
I need a 2023 Alex interview!!!!
I'll do it!
@@earofnewt Ask Alex how he tunes his snare drum too!!😂
One of the best snare sounds in the business for sure. Cheers
Alex has such an iconic snare drum sound! 🥁
I enjoyed hearing that. Alex was all the big laugher of the bunch in interviews. He has a great sense of humor that balances his Dutch practicality. He was his little brother's biggest fan too! Thank you!
yeah, I tried laughing a lot to keep up but he was way ahead of me ;)
@@earofnewt it's awesome you shared this gem. Thanks again!
I met Alex twice and all I can say is he is a great man and musical artist.
Dude...the bonus features for your VH documentary continue to impress. You rock.
Brother! I love people are digging it. In another week or so, my VH series will be ending. Wish it could go on.
@@TheTapesArchive OMG me too! But its clear that you spent a TON of time and put so much into it. And THEN you had to update and creatively edit (well done, by the way). Im just stoked folks are getting to see it and learn about key moments in Rock History! Keep up the great work dude!!!!
@@TheTapesArchive More VH , MORE VH ! .......To the end of time.........lol
Thank you for a great interview with one of the best drummers. I visited the VH concert in BC in 1995 : good memory. You always recognise it is Al behind the drums because he has developped his own signature. And one can tell he was influenced by Baker, Moon but also Ray Philips. Just like Ed he is very talented and used to laugh a lot. I am looking forward to the release of his book in october because it will be a celebration of the unique joint venture these brothers had...Thanks again, in Dutch dank-je-wel voor sharing this lovely footage ❤
Jazz musicians in New Orleans, the blues, also had a major impact. I grew up with jazz, my mom was a professional jazz vocalist and step pop was jazz pianist. I happen to have a rather eclectic taste in music, not only as a guitar player, but as a musician. Last December Spotify sent me congratulatory video saying I was in the top 2% of diverse listeners, 299 different musical artists. Ive really related to Van Halen early on. Saw them the first time in 1978. Edward's playing impressed many musicians who worked with my mom and dad, and after seeing them in 1980, had to bring some VH concert t shirts to musicians who worked in my mom and dads circles. Listening to Alex really makes me realize how much I have in common with their upbringing. Obviously I never "made it" in music. But still love to play guitar. Thanks for the privilege of hearing this @The Tapes Archive, its the ducks guts. Best regards.
Sounds like you have music in your veins and grew up in a working jazz family. Having such an understanding and thus appreciation of music is truly a gift. Great story, thanks for sharing it!
@@ultragroove1 Thank you as well for responding thoughtfully. I've definitely been in music because I love it. Best regards!
GREAT interview! Thanks for posting on cassette. Great to see the wheels rolling and hearing that laugh Alex. Made my evening now let's ROCK!!!!
Love Alex and his drumming + tones. One of the all-time greats!
Alex is one of my favorite drummers, period. His feel, his SOUND. On Van Halen's "Jump," when he comes in . . . man, that ain't just some little pop tune.
Really like Alex's personality. One of the best drummers ever too.
man, this interview has some magical amazing moments!!!🎉
glad you liked it! I enjoyed doing it very much, Alex was in great form
‘Even a blind man could see…’ that Ed had talent on the guitar.. What a great line!
"Even a deaf man could hear".....works even better. RIP, Edward Van Halen.
@@gmoney9068For a blind men to see is harder than to hear.... that's the point of the phrase.
A buddy of mine worked at a rock station in Regina and interviewed Alex back in the early 2000s. He asked about that Simpsons episode with Van Halen at the Grammy’s and Alex said he knew about it but never saw it. He got him tickets to their show in Saskatoon with a backstage pass and that Alex seemed like a good guy.
I love how at the end he asks Alex to have a beer with him. HELL YES! work every angle, it would have been awesome to have met Alex after a show for a beer!
I attended that 1995 Van Halen show in British Columbia.
awesome stuff man, cant wait for part 5
Right on Martin! Coming one week from today. 🤘
Big Band Era... That was music that my parents knew and loved. I am a little younger than the Van Halens. The "Swing" of Big Bands is found in many great Rock bands, like VH and Led Zeppelin. 🙂
For doing very few interviews over the years, Alex is very talkative, informative and interesting to listen to. I wish he would come out and do some drumming incites into how he played some VH songs. Hopefully he will get something together as VH tribute to Eddie and everyone else.
Valid take on Ginger, he was a very musical drummer. Alex is a great interview and a very bright guy.
LOVELY interview with ALEX bless him. Great account of the old days in Holland with him & his brother & their Dad hearing & rehearsing music at home & playing it in public. Ed was funny also when talking about this stuff at the Smithsonian in 2015 ( Ed - 'Quick play the music on the spot to the audience, feed me the chords Alex, A,,,,C,,,,,D ' .....Alex - 'No it was a G Edward , Yer f*cked up' ! .. ) .....lol
Awesome! Thanks for putting that out there!
Great job Steve, I love Alex's playing. He's also a terrific interview!
Enjoyed listening to this interview Tape archives!!!! Very interesting period for v h since Sammy was gonna be gone the next year! I don’t think Van Halen was ever the same again those 4 guys again ! Thanks Tape archives for uploading this interview! Space ace Ron⚡️⚡️⚡️
glad you liked it Ron! It sure was fun to do
Eddie was King. And Alex was never shadowed by his brothers talent. Alex was king also. He influenced my professional drum career as much as anyone. He was as influential as any rock drummer and played with so much flavor and technique. God bless ya Alex....you left so much for generations of drummers to marvel over.
I was 13 in 1976. I was into Purple, Zeppelin, Sabbath, etc. I'm from San Gabriel bout' 3 miles so of Pasadena. I, the youngest, hung out with 5 long-haired cool cats up the street. When I turned 14 in early 77, I piled in a car with the dudes and went to see this band called Van Halen. Like everyone else, I had to hold on they were so f'n good!
Van Halen did 2 sets a night at the Whisky in Hollywood. I traipsed around behind the guys when we wandered up-stairs between sets and after the show. I still have a few pictures we took with Ed and Mike. A flyer signed by Edward, Mikey, and Dave!
Ed, full of energy and always a "schlitz malt liquor" in hand would smile talk and what not. We'd see Punky Meadows and Barry Brandt from the band "Angel" amongst others, always talking Ed up.
I have a picture of Eddie Van Halen smoking a cigarette standing outside top of the stairs behind the whisky, before show!
Alex ever the cool headed guy, talked to no one, ever (in my recollection) He'd always be sitting on a sofa (seemingly unapproachable) and always with his arm around a beautiful girl! Alex was the "mastermind" in my eyes. Quiet and stealth! I had never really heard Alex Van Halen talk or open up till this interview
Lastly Thank you Todd, Paul, and John, without whom I would have never known.
Thank you for posting this Gem!💎 and I apologize for the long winded comment!
The brothers Van Halen are 2 of my biggest musicial influences. Alex! Eddie! ❤❤
I was walking down a hallway at the Hard Rock hotel in 95 and walked past a room with an open door and Alex was sitting on a couch in the hotel room.
Then I go to get on the elevator and all the wifes got off when I was getting on.....Valerie too.
It would be great if Alex had a UA-cam channel and would show us fellow drummers his tricks. Tuning, bass drum sound (it is different than Bonhams bass sound), snare sound tricks why his throne is so low, his pedal technique, his double bass technique, drum stories, etc.
Dude, if only!
Its amazing how much Alex sounds like Eddie. Obviously I know they're brothers but I never hear Alex talk and didn't know how similar they'd be.
I don’t think Al sounds anything like Ed
I never thought he sounded like Eddie until this interview. At times I thought it was Eddie!
Yeah, wow. He really sounds like a faster, less scattered Eddie.
It seems like Alex and Eddie did very few interviews.
Love Big Al, wish he'd do more interviews these days, we miss him.
Love this channel. Love anything you put up Van Halen it’s all gold. Would love to hear more from Alex in the future. I know he’s interviews were rare.
Alex is a wise old owl. Ive always loved his drumming feel !!!
It's cool that so many great drummers cite Al as a primary influence
Alex talks about the recognizable soundstyle a musciscian makes that you immediately makes you think of them. Well he did that also for himself. Like a Buddy Rich. I always knew hearing his drums it was him. HIS AVH drumming style. So great what also contributed so much to the VH sound. Love it, respect! always a fan, for life and beyond. 🤘🤘
AVH has definitely done well for himself. Eddie not bad either
Oh this is brilliant! The maniacal laughter when Alex says he’s somewhere between 30 and 150 years old! 😂 Made me giggle. Thank you for sharing this with us.
Giggle? What are you, a 10 year old girl?
@@NicholasNorway why don’t you concentrate on garnering more likes for your little wank fest videos and stop pissing on other people’s parades!
yeah, I was surprised how joyful he sounded when we talked. It was nice to hear!
😊 Love this channel.
And Al provided change in the energy level in the room!
Amazing how much Alex sounds like Edward, great guy!!
Almost like they are brothers. lol..I kid. 🍻
I like that Alex drops that 'Sammy in the band from the beginning' nugget in this OPEN interview. That has LONG been a source of speculation and Alex just nukes all doubt with that admission.
This was a really interesting interview!!
Without Roth the VH brothers would still be playing Cream covers in bars in front of ten people.
@@thefonzkiss
You're correct. No one doubts that, Roth was the ONLY one with any real ambition or drive TOWARDS fame and success. Sadly, the Van Halen brothers were too much like their father, a follower, an added piece, just looking for a place to jam and play.
They also, like their father, had wicked drinking habits which clouds your judgement and ability to motivate yourself. Roth, for all his persona and pomp, really only drank when he was in character, off stage, in real life, he avoided the stuff, which is why he was able to really lead and direct the bands direction.
In the end, it all happened for a reason, Roth LEFT to captain his own ship and Sammy came in anyway and both made incredible music, so, WIN/WIN!
Ted Templeman is the only one who suggested Hagar for VH. But that's because he produced both bands, and Roth was a leader. Eliminate the leader, insert another guy you control, and he'd have puppets. What Al doesn't say here is that he and his brother wanted and demanded the band stay together and had no interest in Hagar. They made the right call.
I've gotten a kick out of how some fans act like Roth had an out of control ego. As if Ed and Al didn't? They had massive egos. They both took solos for ego every night. They spoke with ego. They were flashy like Dave. Dressed flashy.. a gong with flaming sticks? Flashy guitar, air jumps, solo every song? Of course I dug it and expected it all, but the narrative that Dave had an ego and they were humble church mice is BS.
But I noticed that Dave was all about the band. He was super protective of the band, and he was the leader and unstoppable force that helped drive VH to success. In the end, he gets shit on like he was self centered.
Diver Down.....I heard an interview where Eddie said he didn't like that management was rushing them to make another album when they were supposed to have a vacation. So they decided that cover songs would help expedite, and he didn't want to waste good material on a rushed project.
Made sense.
But then later it became "Dave wanted to be a cover band". No he didn't. Obviously he wrote some of the most legendary classic rock songs. And I like DD. I never questioned their ability to write because they put their imprint on some classic covers. But again, they collectively agreed to do that. But Ed, God rest his soul, my idol, had a tendency to lie and blame others.
@@Rob-dp3vr YOU don't know what "they collectively agreed".
Nor do you know which version of EVH's story was true.
@@TheCountofToulouse I remember in 1986 when Sammy had just joined there was a VH band interview with J.D Considine & in this interview Alex raised the issue that Sammy was the first choice to be vocalist in VH in 1977 when they were about to cut VH 1 at Sunset Sound..... It didn't happen because there were LEGAL problems getting Sammy on board. So they went with DLR......DLR was very labour intensive in getting the band noticed & started but there is no way he had Sammy's top range....But it was just a discussion to originally have Sammy on board. Nothing was on paper contractually. How the writing process in the band would have evolved differently had this happened is interesting to speculate about.....Incidentally, I wouldn't talk about Ed & Alex's DAD JAN like that. People should see the total picture. Noel Monk tried to do that in his book & its very unkind. Jan (their Father) may have had problems with alcohol and thought he was helping Ed when at the age of 12 when bitten by a dog he gave his son a shot of alcohol . Jan thought he was doing the right thing because he could see his son was traumatized. People drink for reasons. To try to cope with trauma, or overcome shyness or because they are depressed. The KEY thing to remember was that their Father JAN was the MUSICAL SPIRIT who INSPIRED HIS SONS to EXPRESS THEMSELVES THROUGH MUSIC FOR THEIR WHOLE LIVES.... HE was the SPARKPLUG ...And if you heard these Jas Obrecht & Steven Rosen interviews of Edward where he talks about his Father you would realize that the fantastic Musical influence Jan had on his sons is FAR MORE IMPORTANT & SIGNIFICANT to their evolution than any alcohol problems. On this Steven Rosen phone interview Ed was crying talking about his Father's situation where because of bad luck of a horrible accident & not getting breaks with useless music unions he never got to realize his own dream. And Ed said - 'Alex & myself want to do everything we can to help him out.' & they did. & right now ED is jamming in Heaven with his DAD on Big bad Bill #2.
@ 14:00 Alex sounds so much like Eddie (& vice versa). "Well SHIT, let's GO". Good interview.
thanks! glad you liked it!
This is great!!! Thank you for sharing it, Alan!!
thank you so much!
thanks for listening!
Great interview. Such a rare thing it is for Alex to give an interview. But, I’m a little embarrassed when an interviewer comes in cold without a history check. Especially at the end when he said I’d like to meet you backstage for a beer. Alex’s sobriety might’ve been good fodder for a question
sorry, I always ask about having a beer backstage. I"m Canadian, eh
@@earofnewt hey, no problem. Now I read what I wrote and it comes off as harsh. I didn’t mean it to be. Very good interview my friend. My biggest complaint would be it’s too short 😀. And so am I 😀
believe it or not, that's one of my longer interviews. Back in 1995 we didn't do 90 minute interviews like the podcasts of today. I tried to keep my conversations concise, so as not to waste the time of the famous person I was chatting with @@JerryTheVeganRockstar
Love this
Super nice and pleasant - he comes off real well there!
yeah, he was great to talk to
I wish I could see video of Alex playing in his father's group
Thank you!
you're welcome!
It's sometimes strange to listen to the Hagar-era interviews, because at the time the band always sent the message of, "This is the second and final line-up of the band. We're happy, we like working with Sammy more than with Dave, and we're not going to change that." The closest thing I ever heard to that not being the case was an EVH interview around this time with Rolling Stone, where he said they'd have to jam with Dave if they ever got into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame (which unfortunately didn't happen). Little did anyone know that 1995 was the last hurrah for the band as a regular operating unit; after this it was pretty much all one-offs and reunions and breakups and so on.
I had no idea Alex was so personable.
yep, he was great to talk to!
Great interview and so upbeat. Loved.
Wild side note; I met Scotty Ross a couple times back in '88 when he managed Poison. He was super nice to this stupid 18-year old kid.
glad you liked it. It was a fun interview to do
Greetings from Jundiaí, Brazil.
On this interview, Alex still has a strong Dutch accent. I believe he and his family kept speaking his mother tongue after moving to The United States (not America as a country).
Immigrants normally keep speaking their mother tongue after arriving and living in a different country.
Anyway, I just wonder why Van Halen neglected to play in South America after 1983 Hide Your Sheep Tour tour.
No one just doesn’t care for the guitar. They try it, it’s too hard for them and the go for something else. That said, Alex was meant to play the drums and is one the most underrated players on all time
it sure was great interviewing Alex back in 1995. Please ignore the mistake in the intro about Bruce Fairbairn producing F.U.C.K. Obviously he produced Balance, not F.U.C.K. Can't believe I missed that in the proofreading process. I should be fired for that! ;)
You're totally forgiven!
You do a mighty good interview sir. I don't usually care for this kinda thing, but this was great. You put Al at ease and just let him do his thing.
thanks Dave! @@davewestner
@@earofnewt You know what's kinda cool? The next night after this interview (I assume the interview was on the 2nd night of their Boston dates), the band was on Letterman, and it was in my "next up" videos this morning
ua-cam.com/video/6vHL4gyYjnY/v-deo.html
Kinda cool I guess
I have to take the blame too. Rookie mistake.
It would be interesting to hear a young Ed & Al play those early half hour intermissions as the Broken Combs or whatever they were calling themselves.
I"d listen to that!
I wish it was....
"You know Ray?"
"Yeah, you better kick that guy out of your life!"
"Will do. Hey Thanks for the heads up "
I don’t quite understand ?
Someone got Alex to talk!
and it was a lot of fun! ;)
It's interesting how much he sounds like his brother on the phone.
that's what I lot of people say. I wish I would have interviewed Eddie as well
@@earofnewt It's strange because Alex sounds very different "in person" than Edward. More nasley I suppose, but the phone hides that.
Alex is my favorite VH band member.
So Alex was responsible for the keyboard riff the song “Feels so Good” is based on. I always wondered what Ed was thinking when he came up with that because it doesn’t sound like something Ed would write. Now I know- he was thinking about his brother.
It sounded like Ed's writing to me ....
I've got a old Guitar World interview where Ed was actually in the process of writing that song in 5150 during the production of OU812 ....It said 'Feels so Good' was an exhilarating marriage of buoyant keyboards and breakneck drumming...Ed said Alex quit drinking to do the drumming & the rhythm had a lot to do with how the tune was written. Ed was even dancing to it in the studio....lol....He said the tune was giving him difficulties saying - 'I was kinda stumped on it but I got past the hump..' Alex must have helped him on that. Actually, Alex was a key component to Ed's playing & writing......He would jam rhythms with Alex like ESP ....For evidence of this just go and watch the newly discovered footage of the brothers going together during the 1984 Castle Donington footage on 'Im So Glad' .....Kicks ass.
95 was a hugely important year in my life. I was at the crossroads in my life Pier 2 directions I could have taken. I chose the easier path and I regret it
He is and always will be my favorite classic rock drummer. I see the comments of average this average that. Obviously you don't listen with both ears. Just listen to the hi hat work in beautiful girls. The inverted ride pattern on hot for teacher... The intro to hot for teacher. Out of love again once again Hi hat and snare work. Try playing to loss of control. Play along to big money off balance. I could go on. You can't play next Ed your whole life and be average when he's the one of the greatest guitar players ever. Again listen with both ears.
Balance is the best, most under-rated VH album of all time. The whole band was heavier. Eddie plays some of his best riffs and solos!
Great interview. 1995 Sammy was already on the way out. It doesn’t seem like it here.
thanks. It was definitely fun to do
Why did he omit the fact Gene was there & arranged a meeting with Bill Aucoin, and they wanted to replaced David Roth , so Aucoin was a No go & one night Paul was also there to see them, Gene went to speak with them after the show. If Im not mistaken he tipped off Templeman in some manner. Gene also brought Eddie & Alex to Record Plant studio where they did some recording.
Prayers for Alex hope that he will break his silence for his fans l can't imagine losing a brother like Eddie God Bless you..Alex
Evolved? He must mean DEVOLVED during Spammy era kids!
Bruce Fairbairn didn’t produce For Unlawful Carnal knowledge…Andy Johns did….Bruce produced the BALANCE album four years later.
Back in the early eighties, a hi-fi set would be an inanimate object... until you'd put on a Van Halen record. ❤️
In 1978 when Ed did the vibrato bar low descent on ERUPTION I thought the belt drive on the rotating vinyl turntable had snapped & the mechanism had ground to a halt ......lol
Holy shit, I was at that same concert in Vancouver in 1995 ( where this interview took place, apparently )
Alice in Chains opened up for VH at BC Place during the F.U.C.K. tour.
Must have been the same one?
Andy Johns and Van Halen produced the album For unlawful carnal knowledge. Not Bruce Fairbain.
His EYES ! Heroin ! Te eth
Roth era blew away the Spammy era kids!
Alex if you read my little comment on this little video IF by any chance please Brother talk to us we need to hear from you.
Man there's so little surviving footage of Bruce Fairbairn. I feel he's been overshadowed by Bob Rock, but his 90s stuff after they split is also great. He was one of the great producers of arena rock along Mutt Lange, Bob Rock, Peter Collins, Alex Salkin and David Foster
Fair airy produced Balance , Not For Unlawful like the intro said
correct. At least we got it right in the actual interview ;)
He and Eddie's voices sound quite similiar!
Hey Alex, Diver Down rules ALL ya big goof!!
"Shellfish ? do svidaniya Geschiet Ihm zu Recht !
I like how everything thinks Alex and Mikey were underrated!!!
They were part of the MIGHTY VAN HALEN!!
No underrated ones in that group at all!!!🧐
Fairbairn produced Balance not For Unlawful. Otherwise this gets the _Fonz Seal of Approval_
"Ayyyyyyyyy!" No KISS tomfoolery here.
You beat me to it because my comment was gonna be that he produced Balance. Andy Johns produced For Unlawful.
@@toddmorrissey8372 I can't imagine Henry Winkler in makeup playing the bassline on Shout it Out Loud in a suit of Armour here.....lol
yeah, we screwed that up. Our bad
@@toddmorrissey8372 got a great Paul vid going up in a few days.
EVH greatest guitar player in the universe
Everybody seems to emphasize the Dutch part of the brother's Van Halen,but you'z guy's overlook the fact that their Mom is Asian!(Javanese?).Thus,their brown'ish skin color.I think that racial mix also greatly contributed to their amazing work ethic!
She’s Indonesian, i think people emphasize the dutch part of their lineage because their father was always mentioned and what not and there are tons of videos out there of them speaking dutch
You don't hear from Alex much, EVER!
Erm...Balance. And...awesome!
Haha I know..Totally fugggit up.
@TheTapesArchive A blip of the screen, a bunp in the road...keep these coming! They are incredible pieces - how do you find them?
I should have caught it during the "proofreading" process. My dumb ass @@TheTapesArchive
At least he is Sober.
I think Bruce F. produced Balance, and not For Unlawful..
yep, you're right. We messed that one up. sorry bout that
Good shout! Totally blew it on that one.
Knowledge was produced by Andy Johns not Bruce lollll
Alex loves to pretend the Sammy was considered for the before the first album. Ted temple man disproved that this was not true.
And don’t forget to fire Mikey
No Doubt Roth was a malcontent all throughout the early year’s until Roth bailed.
Roth needed to get himself a Cabaret act in Las Vegas.
Roth had a limited vocal range and talent.
Once Sammy came in Ed was able to write better music and Sammy’s talent was a welcomed strength.
Unlike Dave Roth, Sammy was an excellent guitar player and that added such a great change for the better.
I don't know she he said ,hispanic areas,if there are none in the states, I know there are Latino areas
Van Halen should have been changed to Van Hagar during the Sammy era,
Ed was got pressure from WB to do just that. I cover it in Ep5.
A reverend is literally a priest
Fix that..Fairbairn (may he R.I.P.) had nothing to do w/the Carnal Knowledge record. He came along for Balance. R.I.P. King Edward.
Yep, I don't know as much about VH past the 1985. I blew that one.
@@TheTapesArchive it’s ok, I’m here to help you, 👍
@@Lynchfan88 Great! What time can you come by this weekend? I already have a yard full of leaves that need raking. 😂🍻
I helped screw that one up too. My proofreading abilities are highly questionable at this point @@TheTapesArchive
Teething !