Uploaded March 2023 | Updated September 2026, 1 hour ago
If you haven’t already heard it, check out the first hour of this marathon interview, “Eddie Van Halen – The Complete 1980 Interview - Tape 1 (HD Audio),” at youtube.com/watch?v=1oQW-duSPPM&t=3215s. The interview you’re about to hear takes up where that one left off.
Like on Tape 1, Eddie plays a lot of unamplified Frankenstrat during Tape 2. Other highlights include him talking about how he was expelled from school in ninth grade, the appeal of working alongside his brother Alex and bassist Mike Anthony, and the disadvantages of being a so-called “rock star.” He delves into how he records in the studio, how the movement of his body is tied into his playing, and how performing onstage is “like having sex.”
Eddie also talks about his admiration of Allan Holdsworth, what he looks for in a solo, and his favorite of his own solos. He discusses his amplifiers and effects. He elaborates on how he boils strings before installing them on his guitar, how he and Mike occasionally tune down a quarter-step, and the pros and cons of tuning a guitar all in fourths. Eddie’s playing throughout this second hour is exhilarating and extraordinary!
I hope you enjoy this unique recording, and be sure to check out the other historic Van Halen interviews on the Talking Guitar YouTube channel. To help us continue producing podcasts, please hit that donate button and send some cheer our way: paypal.me/TalkingGuitar.
A special thanks to engineer/producer Nik Hunt for enhancing the sound of the 43-year-old master tape. For more guitar-intensive podcasts and articles, visit my online Talking Guitar magazine at jasobrecht.substack.com/. #vanhalen #eddievanhalen #edwardvanhalen #jasobrecht #talkingguitar #nikhunt #guitarplayermagazine
This podcast is copyright 2023 by Jas Obrecht. All rights reserved.
If you haven’t already heard it, check out the first hour of this marathon interview, “Eddie Van Halen – The Complete 1980 Interview - Tape 1 (HD Audio),” at youtube.com/watch?v=1oQW-duSPPM&t=3215s. The interview you’re about to hear takes up where that one left off.
Like on Tape 1, Eddie plays a lot of unamplified Frankenstrat during Tape 2. Other highlights include him talking about how he was expelled from school in ninth grade, the appeal of working alongside his brother Alex and bassist Mike Anthony, and the disadvantages of being a so-called “rock star.” He delves into how he records in the studio, how the movement of his body is tied into his playing, and how performing onstage is “like having sex.”
Eddie also talks about his admiration of Allan Holdsworth, what he looks for in a solo, and his favorite of his own solos. He discusses his amplifiers and effects. He elaborates on how he boils strings before installing them on his guitar, how he and Mike occasionally tune down a quarter-step, and the pros and cons of tuning a guitar all in fourths. Eddie’s playing throughout this second hour is exhilarating and extraordinary!
I hope you enjoy this unique recording, and be sure to check out the other historic Van Halen interviews on the Talking Guitar YouTube channel. To help us continue producing podcasts, please hit that donate button and send some cheer our way: paypal.me/TalkingGuitar.
A special thanks to engineer/producer Nik Hunt for enhancing the sound of the 43-year-old master tape. For more guitar-intensive podcasts and articles, visit my online Talking Guitar magazine at jasobrecht.substack.com/. #vanhalen #eddievanhalen #edwardvanhalen #jasobrecht #talkingguitar #nikhunt #guitarplayermagazine
This podcast is copyright 2023 by Jas Obrecht. All rights reserved.
