Former music journalist Blair R. Fischer has revealed e-mail exchanges with Eddie Van Halen over the last five years of his life, saying Eddie was ready for “a whole new beginning” just a year before he passed.
Fischer had e-mail exchanges with Eddie from 2015 to 2020 and has just shared what was in them to Rolling Stone, a magazine he once worked as editor for the magazine’s website. Fischer, who stated that he found Eddie’s email in a public database, doubted it was actually Eddie at first but, in time, he was convinced.
From Rolling Stone article:
“Fairly convinced now that I’m talking with Eddie Van Halen, I decide to offer up my name. And my journalism credentials, too. I say that I’m a huge Van Halen fan, and that I hope to meet him when the band plays in Tinley Park, about 60 miles southeast of my suburban Chicago home, the next month.
“Well hi Blair!! I had a feelin’ but that’s neither here nor there,” probably-Eddie Van Halen writes back. “Are you a male or female?? I know a Blair that’s a chick and 2 that are guys!! Ed.”
Ed. For the first time, he signs off as “Ed.” I feel like a mobster who just got made: I get to call him “Ed.”
Eventually Fischer got to meet Eddie. It was on July 24th, 2015 at Van Halen’s concert in Tinley Park, Illinois. Their communication would continue online thereafter.
During those five years, Fischer said Eddie opened up about many subjects including his battles with cancer (“I don’t wanna be a burdon on anyone!!”), his hot and cold relationship with David Lee Roth, his past frustrations with Sammy Hagar, Wolfgang Van Halen’s upcoming solo album, a possible Van Halen reunion with all past and present members involved (a.k.a. “The Kitchen Sink Tour”) and more.
Fischer added that, in September of 2019, Eddie told him film composer Hans Zimmer had just asked him to do the theme song to Tom Cruise’s upcoming film Top Gun: Maverick. He added that Keanu Reeves also wanted him to make music for one of his John Wick films while Eddie’s friend Bryan Adams wanted to collaborate on a project.
“For me, this is fucking exciting times,” Ed texted Fischer on Sept. 22nd, 2019. “It ain’t the end of anything — it’s a whole new beginning!!”
On August 11th, 2020, Fischer and Eddie exchange texts for what would be the final time. Eddie said he had just gotten out of a back operation and was feeling like “a new guy!!” Two months later, Fischer heard the news with the rest of the world.
“It’s early afternoon on an unseasonably warm and sunny fall day, which I’m staring at from my office window,” wrote Fischer. “Work is picking up, but it’s nowhere near what it was, and I’m nowhere near where I was, either. The pandemic is taking a mental toll. I’m scrolling through Facebook and I see a post that’s vague, but seems to indicate something about Eddie Van Halen. As fast as I can, I go to TMZ. The headline hits me like a freight train: “Eddie Van Halen Dead at 65 From Cancer.”
Fischer’s entire article for Rolling Stone can be read at their website HERE.