Comments on: Eddie and Fender unveil new Frankenstein replica

By: Jarrod

Jarrod — Wed, 28 May 2008 19:53:21 +0000

I grew up in Arkansas and was growing up listening to country music for lack of real access to anything else. An older friend that had moved away came back to visit when I was 11 or 12. I had the local country station on my bedroom stereo. My friend said something like, “What in the world are you listening to?” and popped in the Van Halen 1 cassette tape and played me “Eruption” going into “You Really got me”. The hair stood up on the back of my neck and I immediately knew that I wanted to be a rock and roll guitar player. I taught myself to play guitar and like my 1st guitar hero, Eddie, I tried to make sure that I was an original. I never even learned a Van Halen song for that very reason/and so I wouldn’t copy him. I’ve been a musician ever since and probably will be for life. I’m 35 years old and music, guitar, or writing songs is still just about the only thing I can think about.

By: Dominic Froome

Dominic Froome — Sun, 04 Feb 2007 06:55:08 +0000

Yesterday, today and tommorrow! It’s all connected! Greatness is timeless! Timeless is what Van Halen is! The rock and roll hall of fame is a musical place that stops time. There’s no time like the present! The centre of yesterday and tommorrow! The Frankenstein Guitar is a symbol of rock and roll greatness.
Congratulations Eddie and the rest of the band past, present and future.

By: Kent Battson

Kent Battson — Mon, 29 Jan 2007 04:28:38 +0000

It was 1980 or so, and I had just moved to Nebraska from Cali. Had no friends, just my Kiss albums. I took my sisters boyfriends VH cassette and was playing my ghetto blaster around some guys in our apartment complex, wasn’t too sure about the titles of the songs,(runnin’ with the devil)? Out came the Kiss and in went the VH, WTF!! is that, I said to myself, this is incredible,and from that day forward Ive always wanted to play the guitar like Eddie , still do at 40.Me and a buddy, from that day,still talk about that day I turned him on to VH. That was over 25 years ago! I have always been a fan of the twisted sounds of Eddie’s guitar playing and unique looks of his gear. The Frankenstein will be a great piece longtime coming, CONGRATS EVH and Fender!

By: Jimmy Barham

Jimmy Barham — Thu, 25 Jan 2007 20:53:34 +0000

I was 16 and in High School when Eddie and Van Halen burst onto the Rock scene, and my buddies and I were just like you said, our jaws were dropped to our ankles. From their 1st tour to present day, I have NEVER missed a Van Halen tour. In fact, we would skip school and drive to a Van Halen show anywhere with in 5 or 6 hundred miles. On every tour. I still have all my ticket stubs to prove it. We followed Van Halen on tour like deadheads followed The Greatful Dead. We knew the hotels they would stay at and we would hang out there. That’s how we met and kinda got to know a guy named Ed Anderson. He was like their road manager or something, and it didn’t take long after him seeing us hanging out in the lobbys of the hotels everywhere, he knew who we were and he would give us backstage passes, which I also still have, along with pictures of us with Eddie and Alex and all the guys. I even have a picture where I was standing beside Valarie, and I didn’t realize the picture had been taken until later when the film was developed. To date, I have been to over 100 Van Halen shows, maybe more, I’d have to count all my ticket stubs. I have been lucky enough to have met, gotten autographs, talked with, taken pictures with, Eddie and all the other guys in Van Halen. I’m now 44, and a Real Estate Broker, and when Van Halen hits the road, so do I, although it’s rare these days, their last tour in 2004, only had like 80 shows and went from June to Nov. I have a few tattos, but I have a rule with myself about tattos. I only get a tatto when/and/or/if, it’s something that’s played a major role in my life. So I have the same VH logo tatto on my arm just like Eddie’s, except for 1 thing. Out of respect for the man that I and alot of people consider the greatest guitarist ever, I put mine on my left arm. Eddie’s is on his right arm. To me, if your gonna have that paticular tatto, you should put it on the other arm, because there’s only ONE Eddie Van Halen. But that’s just me. Even though I really can’t play guitar all that well, I would Love to have one of the Fender Frankenstein reproductions. Also, I would love to be at the ceremony in NY, in March, when Eddie and all the guys in Van Halen are inducted into the Rock-N-Roll Hall of Fame. What more can I say, I am the #1 Van Halen fan in the world. And what more could be said about Eddie and Fender, they are the best guitarist and guitar combined, hands down. I may not get to own one of the 300 reproductions of the Frankenstein, but my hat is off to you Fender, as a company. GREAT JOB, and Thanks!