Jas Obrecht – “Eddie Van Halen: A Legend Is Born” (1978)
This interview from Guitar.com, which is basically Eddie’s first, comes from July 23, 1978, and conducted by Jas Obrecht. The picture below was taken on that very same day (if I’m not mistaken)…
Over the years, Eddie Van Halen has called this conversation “my first major interview.” It took place backstage at a Day on the Green concert at the Oakland Coliseum on July 23, 1978. Although AC/DC and Van Halen were opening for Pat Travers and Aerosmith, the Van Halen album was storming up the charts, and Eddie Van Halen was on the verge of becoming the most influential American guitarist since Jimi Hendrix. After finishing his set – the band’s first major appearance in Northern California – Eddie and I shot a few hoops backstage and then sat down for this impromptu interview.
Guitar.com: What was your first professional gig?
EVH: Well, what do you consider professional? Just making money or the first backyard parties? (Laughs). We played some outrageous parties. It used to just be me and [my brother] Alex [Van Halen] on drums and a different bass player. We used to be called Mammoth. I got tired of singing. I used to lead sing, you know, and I couldn’t stand that crap! I’d rather just play. So [David Lee Roth] was in another local band, and we used to rent his P.A. We said, “F***! It’s much cheaper if we just get him in the band!” So we got Dave in the band, and then we were playing this gig with [bassist] Michael Read the rest of this entry »
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