Simply put, I would not be a guitarist if it weren't for Eddie Van Halen, may his memory be a blessing. As a pre-teen in the early days of MTV, my first encounters with the name Van Halen was seeing that angular logo scrawled on school desks and walls. Not long after, I saw the Jump video. At the time I was a restless piano student seeking music to inspire me. The pre-classical exercise pieces were not quite grabbing me, and my practice habits reflected that. “Jump” captured my attention.
Keyboard Hero at First
I was already a huge fan of synthesizers thanks to my friend Brant who had a professional-grade synth (An ARP Omni if memory serves) and was composing some great instrumentals on them, plus covering some of the great progressive-rock synth riffs of the day. Seeing Eddie create such a catchy synth part and that flowing guitar solo sure captured my imagination.
I would then play “Jump” on any keyboard in any department store I found myself in, often drawing a crowd when the song was a fresh hit.
As a high school sophomore in ‘86, I entered the spring talent show with a keyboard composition and won my category. With the prize money I picked up Van Halen’s new album with Sammy Hagar: 5150. I loved the album and especially gravitated to (and promptly learned) the three keyboard songs: “Why Can't This Be Love?," “Dreams” and “Love Walks In.” I formed a band that summer and those are the first three songs we learned together.
An Earth Shattering Rock Guitar Experience
Also that summer I went to my first rock concert - Van Halen in New Jersey's Meadowlands Arena, touring behind this exciting new album. As much as I loved Eddie's keyboard work, I was blown away by the sheer joy of Eddie's guitar playing, evident by his body language, even in the back of the arena where I was seated. His featured solo was my first time hearing “Eruption” - can you imagine?
Soon after that earth-shattering show I picked up a Guitar Magazine with Eddie on the cover and sheet music that showed how to play some of Eddie's parts. Then I dug the guitar out of the closet that I had gotten for my Bar Mitzvah, but had kept stashed away while I concentrated on keyboard. I worked for hours at a time on those Guitar Magazine sheet music pages until my fingers toughened up and I could play the rhythm and lead parts to where they were at least recognizable. I quickly developed basic competence on rock guitar. I never ended up sounding like Eddie, but I continued to pursue this goal. I also started to dress like him with tank tops and bandanas. And I started growing my hair (which, if you've seen me back in the day, grows up and out, not down!)
In my band “Lost and Found” I switched from keyboards to guitar and we brought on a dedicated keyboardist. Through college I continued going to Van Halen concerts, practicing guitar and playing in bands.
Singer/Songwriter + Shredding
In my years after college I headed in a more singer/songwriter direction and got my first acoustic guitar. Some of my multi-track demos would give me the opportunity to add some VH-inspired flash to songs with messages more serious than what would typically show up in the lyrics of a Van Halen record. I liked the combination. I still do. I wore my Bruce Springsteen, Billy Joel and Van Halen influences on my sleeves for my debut solo album “American Road.” But I didn't use any of Eddie's signature techniques (although I had a guest guitarist in Scott Landers who fingertapped up a storm to great effect on “Enemy of my Enemy.”)
I would later find more inspiration in Van Halen's reunion with David Lee Roth in 2007 with a certain up-and-coming young musician joining that tour on bass - none other than Eddie's son Wolfgang. Van Halen's reunion and subsequent (and final) studio album “A Different Kind of Truth” would get me playing. Ultimately this led to my forming a rock band for kids and families - the Jungle Gym Jam. By this point, since I was introducing kids to rock, I felt free to throw in any guitar technique that would work well on record and on stage. I joyously played a tapping passage in my solo to our signature tune, “Jungle Gym Jamming.”
A Musical Legacy
The real jolt to my musicianship came with Eddie's passing and the launch of Wolfgang's solo project Mammoth WVH in tribute to him. This occurred in the depth of the pandemic in late 2020 and I felt a new urgency to create music, especially songs about mental health. The Jungle Gym Jam was on hold, as all our gigs had been canceled except for the occasional virtual opportunity. I was watching every TED Talk I could about mental health, since some issues were affecting my family life. My lifelong friend Ross' drum kit (he plays in the Jungle Gym Jam) sat gathering dust in the basement.
Along came Wolfgang performing every instrument on “Distance.” I had experience playing guitar, keyboard and bass, but none on drums. I had programmed drum parts into computers in the past, or collaborated remotely with drummers. I took a long look at Ross' drum kit and thought about physicalizing my intellectual knowledge of the role of drums in a song. Then I took to YouTube and searched for beginner drum lessons. I started with the basic backbeat and videos by Drumeo, or sometimes my phone's metronome app.
Soon, I was ready to record “Because I'm Grateful,” my first rock song intended for adults, in years. And to play all the instruments, including drums. Little over a year later, I'd launched my album “Salt and Sand: Rock Songs to Heal the Mind.”
I've recorded and released two more albums since then, with yet another in post-production as I write this. I'm not sure any of this material would have existed without the inspiration of Eddie Van Halen's wizardry. Eddie gave me an identity and connection with my musicality that I needed at a sensitive time in my youth. It gives me great joy to connect back with that these days.
For Eddie's sharing of his joy I will always be grateful. May his memory be ever a blessing.
Jason