Credit: Neil Zlozower
Jas Obrecht has just released tape three of his 1980 interview with Eddie Van Halen!
From Obrecht’s YouTube Channel Talking Guitar: Jas Obrecht’s Music Magazine:
This Talking Guitar podcast features the third tape of my day-long 1980 interview with Eddie Van Halen. If you haven’t already heard them, check out the first two hours, which are already posted in my Substack online magazine and on YouTube.
A bit of background: Just before the Tape 3 segment of our interview begins, Eddie played me a song called “Could This Be Magic?,” from Van Halen’s upcoming album, Women and Children First. Eddie mentions that this is the first time he ever attempted to play slide. He then talks about his favorite tracks on the album and how Van Halen albums have been doing in the charts. He explains why there is no guitar solo on Women and Children First, and how he hopes to play something classical as his next recorded guitar solo. He reveals that he’s been listening to a lot of classical music – especially Bach and Debussy – and laments that too many guitarists play what’s already been played.
This interview took place in Neil Zlozower’s photo studio in Hollywood, and Neil joins in from time to time, especially as Eddie discusses other guitarists, such as Randy Hansen, Ritchie Blackmore, Rick Nielsen, Rick Derringer, Jeff Beck, Leslie West, and several others.
In other highlights, Eddie speculates about what he’d do if he ever goes solo and confesses that he and Alex, who were still living together, “duke it out all the time.” He makes the case that rock and roll magazines hate the band Van Halen and says he does not like doing interviews. He then talks at length about his guitar collection and offers advice for those who want to build their own guitars. At various points in Tape 3 Eddie plays his unplugged Frankenstrat.
A final note: This podcast is shorter than the ones for Tapes 1 and 2. This is due to Eddie’s having spent about 25 minutes popping in cassettes and playing me finished tracks from Women and Children First. This section has been edited out for copyright reasons and because the songs can be heard in far better fidelity on the actual CD and vinyl releases. I hope you enjoy the interview!